It's Hard Out There For a Kit
by YourFaveCanadian
Summary: After stumbling upon his kwami, Gabe immediately took upon becoming a hero of Paris. Unfortunately, he has to juggle crushes, his best friend, his 3 siblings and most importantly hiding that he's a hero from his parents, Marinette and Adrien. Through mistrust and deception, Gabe needs to discover which side he wants to be on and who's telling him the truth in all this. NEXT GEN.
1. Chapter 1

"Fear the wrath of the Recyclify!" the akumatized villain yelled out as Chat landed onto the street beside the other Miraculous wielder. Ladybug was on the way but in the meantime it was up to Kit Lynx and himself against the woman ahead of them. Her dress seemed to be made out of old newspapers in a layered skirt with an elaborate grabber in her other hand acting as her guide. Her head was covered in a mask that shaped her hair like a tree with a crown of cans around it.

"So what's her paw-blem?" Chat questioned as the other hero snorted out beside him. At least someone appreciated his puns still, although he gave Ladybug credit for not murdering him after nearly twenty years of them.

"Seems like she was trying to clean up the park and someone ruined her bins or something." Kit responded as he pointed to the pin on her chest that was shaped in the recycling logo. "I think the butterflies in her pin-" Kit began only to be cut off mid way when she waved the grabber and all the recycling on the street was lung at him in waves. Kit and Chat ducked and jumped out of the waves whenever possible, destroying them when they could no longer recycling formed into a giant figure, as Chat gulped. This was a little more complicated, wasn't it?

Immediately, Kit ran towards it, dropping to his knees and sliding on them to avoid a swing. Chat was on the other hand, taking a lesson from Ladybug to strategize when he noticed Kit being wrapped in newspaper and yanked into the recycling beast's giant hand.

Taking the risk, Chat ran towards it, using his cataclysm to destroy it. Kit fell as Chat caught him. "So if its raining kits, when do the dogs start?"

"I think for the sake of both of us, let's keep the dogs away." Kit teased before planting himself on his feet.

Kit looked up at Chat with a grin. "Hey Chat, I have an idea" Kit started waving his hands, keeping an eye on the distracted akuma that had the tell tale purple mark on her face as he winked. "We just need to immobilize her until Ladybug arrives, right? Follow my lead if you think those old paws can keep up."

Kit heard Chat yell out behind him. "This cat still has at least six lives!" before Kit pulled his whip off from around his waist. It was long but on the end had a grappling paw. Wasting no time, Kit threw it up onto a street light and flung himself up and over Recyclify. Chat charged at the Recyclify with his baton in a distraction as Kit snuck up. Using the whip, he wrapped Recyclify's arms and torso in a tight bound as Chat grabbed onto the pin and the grabber while stepping away, in hopes she couldn't do anything without her miraculous or weapon.

"You had all the fun without me kitty?" a voice spoke as Chat turned around to see Ladybug.

"What can I say, I got this kitten to apprentice in how to be fantastically clawsome, milady and it couldn't wait." Chat Noir responded as he pointed towards Kit having the akumatized victim wrapped up off to the side. Chat broke the button in half as Ladybug made quick work of grabbing the butterfly.

Kit came to stand beside Chat as they were talking until Ladybug came over. "Kit, although it is appreciated, what are you doing here?"

"The akuma-"

"Yes but you have school." Ladybug spoke as she put her hand on his shoulder. "School is more important. Chat, myself and the others can handle akumas while you have class."

"But I was able to get here first and actually halt her from hurting more of Paris." Kit rebutted in a mumble as he averted his eyes.

Chat could see Kit's ears flattening on his head, knowing the kid was probably feeling quite upset in that moment as he stepped in.

"I think milady is trying to say we want to make sure you can have a successful future without this getting in the way. Skipping classes can really affect you, even if it is for the greater good. Besides, your school may worry if they can't find you after the akuma lock down. You were amazing today though." Kit heard as he was going to argue more, but Ladybug's beeping alerted him that he could not argue.

"Okay." Kit spoke, in a tone that was quite defeated as he turned and headed to the nearest rooftop.

Chat and Ladybug went together. "Think I was too hard on him Kitty?" Ladybug asked as Chat shrugged at her.

"I understand Milady, but he's just trying to help. It'd be easier if we told him you knew what it's being a teenage hero. He already is worried about you not trusting him." Chat offered as they both de-transformed in a deserted alley behind the dumpster..

"That could risk our identities being revealed though." Marinette spoke as Adrien put a hand on her cheek. "I'm still hesitant since I am still trying to prove his story, look what happened with Volpina."

"I suppose you're right, but look at how much help the rest have been, bugaboo. Sometimes you need to risk giving someone trust." Adrien gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"Of course my chaton."

-

Gabe came into his house as he immediately dropped his bag and flopped onto the living room couch. All he wanted to do was nap after his long day; especially with patrol coming up that night. He just imagine exactly what would be said by his parents in the morning, telling Gabe he needed to do his homework earlier so he could get more sleep and avoid detention, even though his mother was also perpetually late too.

Knowing it was probably the best idea though so he could get some sleep after patrol, he moved to the kitchen table and got to work before his whole family was upstairs with him.

Downstairs was his mother, Marinette's shop. It was a reasonably popular mostly online with each year having business increase with each charity fashion show Marinette did. However, she would arrive home after his father, Adrien, who was a part time instructor in math and science courses at École Polytechnique. It was a well known college for their science and business that Adrien loved working for.

Adrien would arrive home with his siblings Emma, Hugo and Louis.

He did get along well enough with his siblings, as best as anyone could. Emma was his older sister. She had a chipper attitude and was taking the school by storm as the class president for the last three years and the robotics team captain. Hugo was next, the quietest of the group. He loved to speak about poetry and podcasts he had heard, but was shy about discussing his own poetry. Louis was the youngest by a few years and full of life. The youngest of the Dupain-Chengs enjoyed dinosaurs and superheroes, especially Ladybug and Chat Noir. Like Gabe, Louis disliked actual classwork at school.

Several times a week, the kids were fortunate enough to see Pépère Dupain and Mémère Cheng, since they typically babysat Louis after school if Adrien had afternoon classes or if Emma and Hugo were scheduled to help out part time at the bakery. Gabe stood out though, choosing to work part time for Grandpapa Agreste as a model, even though Adrien was hesitant at first and only agreed with strict guidelines Gabriel had to follow for his grandson to ensure his son didn't get overworked. It came with its own slew of problems though, with everyone comparing Gabe to Adrien at his age. Although Gabe thought it better than being reminded of how his siblings were better at things than he was.

It was a struggle having to fight to be separate from the shadows of Emma and Hugo, while trying to not make a shadow for Louis to fall under. After all, he wasn't that smart in school subjects, and did not get any semblance of the baking skills his maternal side was known for, and his sewing was only _okay._

All of this the young teen could deal with, but there was one thing that troubled him. Gabe hated lying to his parents about being a hero of Paris. It had only been a few months so far, but it was the greatest months in Gabe's life. Every other part of his life was quite open with them so it felt strange.

His kwami, Nyxy was his best friend, even though it meant that Gabe constantly needed to smell jerky because of him. As Kit Lynx, Gabe was a separate person that could escape all of his drama. He wasn't compared to his siblings or told how he should be taller at his age. Gabe could make a difference to the people of Paris without them judging for how he looks.

Yes, people compared Kit Lynx to Ladybug and Chat Noir, since they were the original duo and people were nervous of him at first, but he had shown that Kit was the real deal of a hero so far. This led to more leniency in doing rounds without having to report as much to Chat Noir or Ladybug. Although he would say, there had been little miraculous incidents while he was on patrol, but due diligence and showing Paris they were around. Hawk Moth was a pest, but Le Paon was the one to be worried about. Any hint of Paon and it was high alert mode since she focused more on larger brain schemes that required the heroes to all work together.

Some time passed and Gabe leaned back on his chair as he pushed away his homework, deciding on giving up on it for now. At the very least, he finished half the worksheets and he was exhausted from a photoshoot that afternoon in the park after the akuma. He was enjoying being home alone, but knew it would end soon. His family had a pattern of coming home for about 6:15 and judging by the time, he knew they would come in shortly.

He ran his hand through his mess of blond hair as the sound of footsteps could be heard from a group of people ascending the stairs to the house.

"Three, two, one." He muttered as Adrien pushed the door open as the house erupted in a flurry of chatter.

"-it's amazing to scientifically explain how it works but another to do it. It took awhile to get the hang of it. Tomorrow's croissants will all be with my dough though!" Emma chirped as Hugo followed behind, his nose stuck in his book.

"I like Memere's cwoissant!" Louis chimed out, a slight speech impediment coming out as he grinned. "Papa, can we have that for dinner?"

Adrien laughed as he shook his head. "No, your Maman made a casserole to cook." Adrien began as he began to call out. "Gab e, is it in-"

"It only needs twenty more minutes Papa." Gabe called out as he grabbed his books to stand up as he walked by Louis and patted his head. They could at least trust Gabe to not mess up putting a premade casserole in the oven... typically.

"Perfect." Adrien began as he walked to his office with his messenger bag to drop off his day's works. Emma had led Louis to the television as they decided to play some Mecha Strike until Marinette got home, which would be in the next twenty minutes seeing as her store was below. Hugo began to set the table as he hummed a tune under his breath.

Gabe set the books in his bedroom on the main floor, beside his dad's office before stepping in. Adrien was organizing his desk putting the new sheets in the 'to be graded' bin on his desk. Gabe was amazed by how organized his father was.

Hearing his son's steps, Adrien glanced up with a smile. "What's up kiddo?"

Gabe was nervous as he leaned himself against the doorway. He already knew this would be a tough question. "I was thinking maybe, we could try to ask Grandpapa Agreste over for dinner sometime this week."

Adrien paused as he raised his brow. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just think that we see our other grandparents all the time and he doesn't see us often. Especially more than you and I."

"You know why-"

"He's not trying to be mean, he just is blunt." Gabe argued back as Adrien ran his hand through his hair.

"Yes, but it is a stressful event, Gabe." Adrien rationed. "I love my father but he's not the easiest to be around and he's a busy man."

"Probably because he's alone so much. Christe, papa. He spends most of his days just with Nathalie and the chef as company. Even they don't see him often. The company sees him as a reclusive designer. Maybe if we put in some effort, he'd warm up."

Adrien sighed in defeat. "I'll ask your maman, okay?" This was an argument that happened quite frequently in this house.

Gabe nodded, knowing that it wasn't going to be a winning battle. They would come up with an excuse about how they were busy with something or Grandpapa would not like to be at the small home compared to his larger manor. He accepted it as such as to not start another disagreement.

He went to his room, knowing that the timer would let Emma know to take the casserole out. The moment the door shut, Nyxy flew out of his sweater pocket.

"Kit, why do you want your family to have him over so badly?" The kwami flew over to his desk where the bag of jerky rested. The lynx kwami loved it and Gabe did not know why. "Like you're chasing your tail here."

Gabe sat on his bed as he looked over to his kwami. He was greyish brown with large ears that had dark tuffs of fur coming off of his ears and from his cheeks. Wide hazel eyes were rimmed with dark colouring and he had the spotting and what looked like a bow tie on his chest. Honestly, Nyxy reminded him of a stuffed animal sometimes and Gabe even tried making one to look like Nyxy.

"He seems so sad Nyxy. Every time we go, Hugo, Louis and Emma talk about all these things our other grandparents do, and he's in the shadows." Frowning, Gabe continued. "I know he was strict on papa growing up, but he's still family. Every year he goes out less and less."

Nyxy shrugged as he flew over and sat on Gabe's knee. "Well you gave it a shot again." The kwami tilted his head. "So, you going out later on the town?"

"Yeah I think so. Maybe Chat will be on the prowl." Nyxy laughed.

"I get it, he's your role model."

"Of course he is, he's so carefree and punny." Gabe began as he smiled. "He doesn't get mad at me when I make a mistake and it's nice to have someone focusing on just me."

Nyxy smiled at his holder as he sat on his holder's chest. "You know it could be Ladybug on patrol tonight, Rena Rouge or even the new Bee, Drone."

Gabe immediately turned red. "Ha, yeah maybe." Nyxy rolled in laughter as he looked at Gabe. "You got it bad, Kit."

Gabe swatted at the air towards Nyxy. "Shush you! I just get easily flustered when he flirts with me."

Nyxy flew up as he rolled his eyes. "HA! And I like cheese."

"Ha ha." Gabe spoke as he rolled his eyes. "Besides, it'd be hard to have that kind of relationship. What with not knowing each other's identities."

"Why can't you?"

"Since Ladybug has been emphasizing the whole to not reveal your identities thing. She even said that she doesn't know Chat's identity still."

Nyxy rolled his eyes, which was kind of hilarious to Gabe because of how comically large his eyes were. "That's ridiculous. Wouldn't it help if you knew who the other was? I'm not saying tell your parents or anything but you two could help each other with covers. "

"You think I'm going to go against LADYBUG? You are delusional Nyxy. She already is wary of me from just finding my miraculous." Gabe responded as he heard someone calling his name.

"Dinner time Gabe." He stood up, as he looked over to Nyxy.

"Anyways, dinner time and then patrol." Gabe spoke before heading out of the room.

At dinner, it was a hustle and bustle of conversation as everyone was updating each other on their days. Gabe decided to listen quietly as Emma told Marinette and the rest of the table about the science experiment from today. Gabe was more interested in finishing to go on patrol as he wolfed down food.

He was on his second plate of casserole before Marinette aimed the conversation towards him. "How was your day Gabe?"

He took a moment to swallow the bite of food before responding. "It was a decent day. You know, school was school. The shoot went okay." Gabe honestly thought the day pretty plain as he leaned back. "What about you Maman?"

Marinette smiled at Gabe as she set down her fork. "It was actually wonderful, I mean, I did trip over a mannequin but then I found out I've been offered a spot in a runway show in a month's time. We will all make designs and people can auction for them with the theme of Paris' superheroes. There'll also be other sorts of fun things going on there too like games and silent auctions. The proceeds are going to help give people presents for Christmas." Marinette explained. .

"That's amazing mom!" Emma spoke, as Louis immediately began spouting off ideas for what Marinette should do. He focused mainly on Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace. Gabe's bit back his response, since he wanted to tell Marinette to give focus on Drone and Kit Lynx since most people wouldn't. He knew that he was being biased though since he was Kit.

Pushing his empty plate away, Gabe looked at Adrien. "May I be excused?" he asked politely before running his hand through his hair. "I wanted to get homework done."

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. Marinette could see the shift in Gabe, but chose to not say anything as Adrien smiled at Gabe as he nodded. "Sure, bud."

Gabe took his dishes to the sink and rinsed them before heading to his room. As soon as he got in, he shut the door and locked it behind him. The key for it was in his pocket as he looked over to Nyxy who was lounging about on his bed.

"Ready Nyxy?" The kwami shot up as he grinned.

"You know it!"

"Alright, Nyxy, time to prowl!" The kwami was engulfed into his bracelet as the change took over him. A brown mask covered his eyes and nose, changing his eyes to a pale hazel instead of the green. Wide ears with tuffs of fur covering the top. His hair now had dark brown at the ends with his hair going wild. The suit was a light brown with dark brown spots and stripes. A long belt was wrapped around him twice with a small weighted cylinder that rested on his back like a small tail onto him. A dark brown scarf was around his neck, jagged like chest fur. His boots went to his knees, with large wide feet at the bottom that were dark. On his hip were brass knuckle like things with claws for him.

All in all, it felt amazing to Kit, no matter how many times he had transformed. Opening the window, Kit pushed out of window as he made sure the coast was clear before rushing up the fire escape to the roof.

Landing softly, Kit looked around before he started his patrol and ran across the rooftop of his buildings before he saw a tall figure in front of him. Bright yellow and black stood out as Kit grinned. "H- hey D-Dr-rone!"

The figure turned around as Kit jumped to the next building where Drone was. Even with wedges in his boots, Kit was a head shorter than Drone. Kit liked patrol with Drone. The yellow clad man was also new on the scene and trusted what Kit said wholeheartedly.

Chat had told Kit that he was given the kwami on recommendation on Queen Bee, who got too busy in life to continue. Drone had his almost pinkish hair combed back slickly. His entire suit was yellow with thick black stripes on his thighs and black boots. A large black stripe was over his torso. His hands were black with thick stripes shrinking as they went up to his elbows. His mask covered his eyes were black and yellow around bright blue eyes and was topped off with antennae. It looked quite a lot like Queen Bee's.

"Hey Kit Kat," Drone spoke as he stood in front of Kit. "So, does this mean I get to spend the night chasing you?"

"Ye-yeah, well no- maybe? We'll have to see how the night goes." Kit began, knowing that he was rambling as he took a deep breath and leaned back a bit on his heels, yelping as he felt his body falling back. He grabbed onto Drone's arms to catch himself as he flushed. "I mean, I guess so?"

"I can already see you're falling for me." Drone laughed as he pulled Kit closer away from the edge as Kit smiled. "Come on."

"Shouldn't we separate to cover more ground?"

"Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Drone spoke as he started walking through the rooftop. "This gives us more time together anyways." Drone offered as the two began to run on the rooftop on patrol. It was a common route, ending at the Louvre where they would rest.

Drone was grinning back as he jumped off the building, hovering a bit in the air before going as Kit decided to show off and flip between the buildings, laughing the whole time.

They could see some people watching the two as they did patrol, that was fine with him, even if Ladybug could see it and chastise them for not splitting up. Drone stayed a bit ahead of Kit in their run, unable to speak during this time but would occasionally glance back to ensure Kit was still there.

Kit decided to speed up in order to take the lead, teasingly winking at Drone before sharply turning so they could get the other part of the patrol before their break at the Louvre. This would be more exhausting but allow for them to take a longer break. Kit continued as he curved around a building, immediately seeing a body as he tried to stop himself but Drone, following close behind crashed into him. Kit then tumbled against the black clad body in front of him, shrieking out as he clung onto him.

"Haha, I litter-ally was just wondering where you two were." a voice spoke as Kit glanced up and his smile widened.

"Chat Noir!" Kit spoke as he took a step back, Drone was standing close behind him, and Kit could feel the other boy resting his arm on Kit's shoulder as he ignored it. "See anything tonight?"

"Nothing on my end. It's been a Purr-fect night I think." Chat spoke as he motioned towards the Louvre and started walking that way. Kit immediately followed as Drone whined from losing his arm rest.

"Yeah, there's been nothing buzzworthy." Kit rolled his eyes at the pun before Drone stuck his thumb out. "You know, I think it's unfair that you like his puns but not mine."

"Hey, leave my puns out of it." Chat chided as Kit patted Drone's cheek.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you." Kit spoke before thinking. "I mean, ugh- your puns are fine?"

Chat bursting out in laughter at this. "You know, my own lady love was just like you Kit. She could never properly get a sentence out to me the first few months we knew each other."

Kit flushed as Drone grinned. They all rested at the Louvre as Kit laid with his back flat against the roof before sighing. "Paris is beautiful this time of evening."

"It really is," Drone said before he asked. "How was the akuma thing today Chat?"

Kit's ears perked up as Chat grinned to look towards Drone. "It went pretty well today, no one was injured and Kit even did well."

"What? Kit was there. No fair. I was told I had to stay in school." Drone spoke as Kit noted the response, adding to Kit's lists of fact on Drone, even though Kit was already pretty sure of this.

"Well Kit's already been talked to about that with Ladybug." Kit shrugged it off as the three started talking about some other subjects with Drone telling Chat about how Queen Bee was missing the hero life but she found it a bit less stressful to focus on her career and social life.

Eventually, Chat left them as Kit and Drone finished off their round. When they were almost done, Drone finally asked something without his usual playful tone. "Hey, so I was thinking maybe we could try one of those online messaging services and we could keep chatting through the days?"

Kit stopped in his steps, biting his lip as he looked up at Drone. "We aren't allowed to share our identities though…"

"We don't have to, we could make anonymous accounts and turn off locations." Drone spoke as he played with his own hair. "I just always look forward to talking with you."

Kit flushed as Drone grabbed onto Kit's hand. "You don't have to say yes, I just thought it'd be fun."

"I'll think about it, okay?" Drone seemed to agree as he perked up.

"Sounds good, I'm going to head home now." Kit smiled as he turned and headed home himself, He crawled through the window and immediately let go of his transformation, a stupid smirk on his face as he went through the process of getting ready for bed, making sure his binder was on top of his dresser for the morning.

In his pajamas, Gabe walked out of his bedroom, doing some stretches as he headed towards the kitchen for a before bed snack. He could see his mother coming down the stairs from the upper floor as she smiled at him.

"Heading to bed soon Gabe?" Marinette questioned as Gabe nodded.

"Just getting a snack first." Marinette was already in her pajamas as she relaxed and pulled out a few chocolate chip cookies, handing Gabe a plate of them as Gabe grabbed both a glass of milk.

They sat at the table together, as Gabe could see sketch sheets on the other side his mother was working on. "Hey maman, for the superheroes of Paris who do you think you'll do?" Gabe could already see a Ladybug design.

"Well Chat and Ladybug of course, since everyone loves them." Marinette began before pulling over her sheets. "I'm hoping to make some for each of the heroes of Paris though. Although I haven't had any idea for them yet."

Gabe looked through the sheets, as he noticed a pajama onesie sketch as he finished his cookies. "Maman, you could always do a set of onesies?" Gabe suggested as he smiled. "I mean, you could do it with hoods and thing."

Marinette smiled as she ran her hand through Gabe's blond hair before pressing her hand against his cheek. "That's a great idea Gabe."

Gabe leaned against his mom's hand as he tried to not yawn. Marinette saw this as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Go to bed Gabe."

He nodded, as he took his dirty dishes the sink before heading back to his room. Once Gabe had his phone plugged in and was laying on his bed, he was out like a light.

Life was great for him.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a little over a week since the last akuma as Gabe had heard his alarm going off in the morning as he let out a groan and immediately shut it off. It was the weekend, he could sleep in, he declared to himself. Gabe buried his head further against the pillow as he felt back to sleep almost instantly. At some point, someone began knocking on Gabe's door as he groaned. "Too early." He responded before covering his head with his pillow.

The door opened as Gabe immediately felt a weight on top of him. He immediately let out a groan. "Get off." Gabe whined as the body stretched out on him.

"This is what you get for being late to hang out with me." the voice spoke as Gabe realized who exactly was there. It was Enzo Bourgeois-Kurtzberg; his best friend in the whole world. "You know, I think this could make a great selfie." Enzo spoke as Gabe looked up, hoping his friend was kidding, just in time to see Enzo snapping the photo on his snapchat. "And posted."

Enzo scooted off so he was laying on the bed beside Gabe. "You know I did schedule for you to be late, but this is a new late for you." Gabe looked over at his strawberry blond haired friend, as he raised a brow. Enzo held up his phone, showing the time being nearly noon.

Gabe shot up out of his bed as he immediately began to push Enzo to the door. "Get out while I change." Enzo let the shorter boy push him around as he heard the door shut. Gabe changed quickly, making sure to have a sweater with a pocket for Nyxy. Honestly, Gabe wore the same type of outfit casually. A sweater with dark sleeves and a hood, with galaxy print or some fancy print, grey jeans and converses. His miraculous bracelet was always on him.

Grabbing his phone and wallet, Gabe headed out of his door as he saw Enzo speaking with Adrien in his office. "-mom's really excited you and Marinette are coming over to her fundraiser gala. She wanted me to give you the tickets today. She's already given your father his."

"Thank her again for this please Enzo. Are you going to spend the night here during the gala?" Gabe heard as he walked to the bathroom across the hall, and started brushing his teeth and combing his hair.

"That or hide upstairs in the penthouse." Enzo replied to Adrien as Gabe walked out of the bathroom.

"Okay, I think I've kept you waiting enough." Gabe spoke as he put his elbow up high onto Enzo's shoulder. They had been best friends for years and Gabe would continue to do this even though Enzo was now taller than him, Gabe missed when Enzo was a short kid in like third grade.

"What's your plan for the day?" Adrien asked, looking up from his desk, littered with tests.

"We were going to check out the Vampire Museum." Enzo proudly spoke as Gabe laughed. Enzo would find any single weird museum he could find to drag Gabe. "Then I was going to drag Gabe probably to the park."

Adrien nodded as he glanced at his son. "Text us if you need anything, and be safe."

The two walked out of the apartment as Enzo led the way, detouring to get goods at the Dupain Cheng bakery. On the way, Enzo took at least four pictures, including of the bakery."Are you married to your phone or something?" Gabe teased as they waited in line.

"I am an influencer in Paris, and must influence the people with what I see, especially my favourite bakery." Enzo responded before hip bumping Gabe. "Be glad I didn't make you dress up more for me. Seriously, when you said you'd model for Gabriel Agreste, I thought your style would improve."

Gabe snorted as he looked over his best friend. The boy was wearing a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, untucked and the first few buttons undone. Matched with a dark brown vest, and a small grey scarf in a basic loop and black pants. Gabe was around models, and Enzo could easily command a room of them.

When they arrived to the counter to order, Mémère Dupain-Cheng went around the counter to immediately hug Gabe. "Hi Mémère." Gabe spoke as he hugged her back happily.

"What brings you here?"

Gabe's stomach grumbled, giving him away as his grandmother laughed. "We're going on an adventure and decided to get breakfast or I guess lunch first." Gabe spoke as his grandmother went around and began putting food into the bag. Both Gabe and Enzo fished out the money as his grandmother immediately shook her head.

"You put that money away."

"Mémèr-" Gabe began as she pushed the bag forward.

"You're family." she insisted as Gabe sighed and took the bag. "I get paid in love from you."

Gabe laughed as he kissed Sabine's cheek. 'I love you very much."

"Thank you Mrs. Dupain-Cheng." "Thank you Mémère." Enzo and Gabe chimed at the same time before Gabe called to the back. "Bonjour Pépère!"

The two headed out, immediately wolfing down some croissants as they headed to the nearest bus stop. Gabe was glad Enzo was actually taking public transit instead of wanting to use a taxi. Although Enzo put his sunglasses on before they boarded the bus. Drama king.

When they sat at the back of the bus, Enzo pulled out his phone again onto the LadyBlog. Although Alya was a well known reporter, _Reporter Extraordinare: Alya Cesaire_ being her slogan, running a semi-successful youtube channel and series, she still kept the Blog updated. "So Kit Lynx and Drone were caught holding hands earlier this week."

Gabe's eyes widened as he snatched the phone and looked at the image. It was from right before Kit left Drone. He flushed before handing back the phone. "I mean, maybe they were just talking about something."

Enzo shook his head. "Nope. I think they've definitely got the hots for each other." Enzo began pulling up articles as Gabe tried to keep his cool. He could not exactly tell Enzo that he knew for a fact Kit and Drone weren't dating because Kit was too chicken.

Enzo's ramble continued the whole time as he laughed. "I wouldn't blame them for dating. Those boys would be an attractive couple." Enzo spoke as he nudged Gabe teasingly.

"I think they're more business partners than anything. Like Chat and Ladybug." Gabe responded as he looked forward, watching for his bus stop.

"Psh, Ladybug and Chat Noir are clearly together. Just like Carapace and Rena. At least with those two, Carapace proposed publicly. Everyone knows that our favourite heroes are together. I know like five great videos of evidence for that." Enzo spoke before he pulled the cable.

The two got off of the bus as they went into the museum, it was pretty empty but was a beautiful and sunny day. The Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures was an odd place and was not known for the most reliable of hours. Inside were ancient texts and other artefacts, as 'proof' of these legendary creatures'. Gabe and Enzo spent the day talking about all the objects in the museum and coming up with wild theories.

By the time Gabe got home, he was grinning ear to ear. They had stopped by a dollar store and found blank hero masks. It was still time before dinner as he found his little brother looking pretty bored, just as he thought. Gabe had his hands behind his back as he grinned at Louis. "Want to do something fun?"

Louis immediately perked up as he rushed over to Gave. "Yes!" Louis then began to continue to chant please over until Gabe caved and showed the masks and craft supplies. The two sat at the table, well Gabe sat as Louis kneeled on his chair, as they decorated the masks. Eventually, Hugo and Emma came out of their rooms when they heard their siblings downstairs laughing and started making masks. The four had all made unique masks, with Louis' being dinosaur themed, Emma's taking on a more chemist kind of look " _No, it's a pun, you know since Potassium is K?..."_ whereas Hugo's went far more delicate. There was finely detailed flowers and feathers on it. Gabe on the other hand, decided to go more random, doing a spotted design with the spots transitioning through the rainbow colours. No exact theme but still nice in its own right.

Adrien came out later as he saw this and grinned. Emma immediately pushed it away, trying to feign maturity. Which no one believed Her smile and blushing cheeks gave her away.

Adrien waved a hand at this response as he pointed to the masks. "You're never too old to do stuff like this." Adrien came and sat down with them as he observed each mask. "Last week in lecture I gave all my students colouring pages to do instead of a test since they were so stressed as we reviewed for this weeks test."

Unfortunately there was only four, so Adrien just continued watching until he realized it was nearly time to cook dinner. During this time, Gabe watched at Louis ran around declaring himself a superhero while Emma and Hugo started watching television. Eventually Louis settled down with them and Gabe began cleaning the table off.

The rest of the evening had gone smoothly, although Marinette did head back to the shop in order to finish some projects after dinner. Gabe was honestly considering turning in for the night, having already gotten into his pajamas before he heard the crashing outside. Looking out his window, he saw cars being thrown.

It all led to one thing as Gabe immediately looked for Nyxy. "I honestly thought Hawk Moth had an earlier bedtime." Nyxy spoke before adding. "However, I do enjoy the idea of getting out for the night."

"You got it." Gabe spoke before he started transforming and going out to the fire escape. Even a few blocks away and Kit could see it. There was a sand creature riding a wave of sand as his voice boomed around the city.

Kit rushed to it as he noticed Ladybug was already at the scene when he arrived. She was blocking a blow from the sandman creature as Gabe swung off his light pole, feet connecting straight with the creature.

"I Terroroddler! No bedtime!" the creature screamed out as Kit paled.

"Ladybug, is this a kid?"

"Looks so, Kit." Kit grimaced as he heard feet landing beside him. Glancing over, he noticed Drone.

"Some of us need our Bee-auty sleep."

"Drone, I always thought you'd take after Queen Bee as a hero, not Chat. " Ladybug teased as Kit and Drone immediately charged forward. They knew that Ladybug and Chat were the two the akumas would always go after primarily. After all, they had the most important miraculouses it seemed with being luck. Gabe still did not know why Hawk Moth or Le Paon wanted their miraculouses.

Kit braced himself, as he turned and planted his knee on the ground so he could give Drone a boost for a stronger hit. It was more effective than him flying as Drone tried grabbing Terroroddler, but was being sucked into the sand body. Ladybug jumped in immediately to yank him back with her yoyo around Drone's torso.

"This is trickier than I thought." Drone quipped as Kit looked at Ladybug.

"You know how to get a kid to sleep?"

Ladybug seemed to be thinking the same thing or caught on quick as she started giving orders. "Yes, okay so you two need to…" Ladybug began as they ducked behind a car. Kit volunteered to be a distraction as he ran to Terroroddler.

"Hey, you!" Kit shouted as he stood where he was. He could see the toy in terroroddler's hand as he waved his hands. Stretching his arms up, Kit feign a dramatic yawn. "I think it's bedtime."

"NO!" The akuma screeched as he lunged towards Kit. A wave of sand threw him against the wall, as he groaned and stood up. Terroroddler was coming forward again as Ladybug came up from behind as she and Drone wrapped the akuma in a ladybug spotted blanket. The two began to sing a lullaby as Kit watched in amazement. The kid began to start dozing as Ladybug carefully grabbed the toy and broke it over her knee while Drone held the child.

She cleansed the butterfly before carefully taking the blanket as Drone continued holding the barely awake toddler. Kit walked over as he asked to see the toy. Sure enough, on the tag was a "if found, return to." written in tiny font as he smiled. "I know where this is, we can take this guy back home." Kit gestured to Drone and himself as Ladybug nodded and the beeping started.

"Good call. If anything comes up, call immediately." Ladybug smiled at the two before adding. "Good teamwork."

Kit walked down the road with Drone following, keeping a slow pace so that Drong didn't jostle the small child awake. When they were close, they could see the two parents freaking out. Kit waved them over as they put the toddler into his mother's arms. She was so thankful as her husband also took the opportunity for a selfie of all of them after apologizing many times.

"Honestly, it happens since someone wants to manipulate the valid emotions of others. Just try and have a good night's sleep." Kit spoke, as the family went back into their apartment. Kit was going to turn to Drone to walk down the road, but it seemed his friend had other ideas as he flew the pair both up to the rooftop. Kit squirmed in concern as he scrambled to cling to his friend.

The minute Kit's feet hit the roof, he let out a sigh of relief. Drone glanced over to him as he raised a brow. "I'd never think the lynx was afraid of heights."

"Not heights, falling." Kit responded back, as he pointed to the roof. "Solid ground under me is great. Nothing under my feet is bad." The ears of Kit's mask were flat as Drone clued in.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get somewhere we could talk in private."

"You didn't know, it's fine." Kit said before he sat down. Drone sat beside him as he laughed.

"Speaking of didn't know. Did you know we are apparently dating?" Drone was smirking."You could have at least told me Kit, I'd have a taken you out to a nice dinner first."

Kit's face got completely red as he avoided Drone's face. "You'd know if I was your boyfriend… I mean, if you and I dated. Which we totally aren't as far as I know." Kit rambled out as Drone chuckled.

There was a comfortable silence until Kit finally spoke. "So I was looking into the messaging thing you talked about… we could use Chattin'. All it needs is an email, and username. No incriminating information. It'd let us send pictures, links and message." Kit rambled. He honestly looked quite into it and made an account already. "I'm on it as NotKitLynx."

Drone perked up at this as he nodded. "Then you should bee sure that i'll message you later." Kit could hear the beeping as he sighed. Drone knew what it meant too as Kit stood up.

"Night Drone."

"Good night my one and only Kit."

When Gabe got home, he stayed sitting on the fire escape for awhile as he stared at his phone screen for a notification on Chattin's main page. Out of paranoia, Gabe had put it within a folder inside of a folder, and turned off the notifications from appearing on his main screen.

After awhile, he refreshed the app to see that he had a friend request from a BeeutifulDrone. Gabe almost laughed as he accepted it immediately. Kit wasn't sure how to start the conversation so he asked about school.

Drone explained that he was still in highschool, and found it okay but could not wait to graduate eventually. From there they began talking about just vague things from school- funny incidents at school with nearly losing eyebrows. Neither would say names or incriminating information though. By the time Gabe felt exhausted, he realized it was nearing five in the morning. He spent most of the night out talking and he had just realized just how cold he truly was.

Gabe crawled into bed as he made sure to send a "Goodnight. I look forward to talking with you soon."

Gabe continued messaging Drone on the messenger regularly, even sneaking messages in a couple classes. He used it as a distraction as he sat in the waiting room with his dad for his weekly appointment. Kit knew he probably _could_ do this without his father, but he was fearful of needles. However, Kit knew getting his weekly T shot was the best method for himself compared to the pills or gel since he was spacey and forgetful. So at lunch period every Tuesday, Adrien would collect Gabe for the T shot and get a quick lunch. It was something that Gabe always looked forward to since he got his dad's full focus and could ask questions he may be nervous about.

Adrien could see unlike his usual dread, Gabe seemed happy. Curious, Adrien nudged Gabe's shoulder. "Something good happen?" He quietly asked, not wanting his voice to carry through the entire waiting room.

"Chatting with a new friend, we have a lot in common." Gabe responded as he tucked his phone into his pocket.

"Oh? School friend?" Adrien questioned as Gabe shook his head.

"No uhm… online." Gabe replied before they were called into the room. Adrien followed Gabe as they went in. Adrien let Gabe sit first before taking his own seat beside his son. The nurse came in as she started her usual banter, much easier since she was the usual nurse. Gabe immediately grabbed onto his father's hand upon seeing the nurse with the needle. He already had the injection zone ready for the nurse as he shut his eyes tightly.

Adrien began talking in a soothing voice.

"Did I ever tell you how I met your mother? She originally hated me on the first day. There was an incident involving chewing gum where she thought I put the chewing gum on her seat when I was taking it off. It was my first day ever of public schooling. I made it up to her with an umbrella. It was raining and I told her the truth before offering it to her, since I had a car waiting for me while she had to walk. Though the instant she grabbed the umbrella, it collapsed onto her." Adrien spoke as Gabe focused on his story; wincing when he felt the needle in his thigh. Adrien continued though. "Later, your Aunt Alya told me that as the day your mother started crushing on me."

It was over quickly as Gabe relaxed and waited a moment until there was a bandaid before the two headed out for food. Gabe rubbed his sore leg as Adrien patted his shoulder. "You've gotten a lot better at handling needles."

Gabe smiled to his father as they walked to a small cafe. "Anyways, so what do you and your online friend talk about?"

Gabe shrugged. "We started with the superheroes, just which ones we liked and stuff. Then generic stuff without giving away identifying information, just life stuff. Favourite shows, how the day is going, etcetera." Gabe explained casually as Adrien relaxed hearing that his son was being smart with his messaging online.

It was a few nights later that Gabe was on patrol, avoiding it on Tuesdays since he was exhausted around the day of his shot.

Kit was on round and ended up meeting Chat at the Eiffel Tower. The two sat on an upper beam as they asked each other questions.

"So, why don't you use your special much?" Chat asked as Kit thought for a moment before shrugging.

"I haven't really had the opportunity to use it too much. From what I've practiced it is sort of a way to find someone and then ambush with a strong hit if I have something of theirs or that they've touched." Kit had tried it a few times, practicing by using family members or friends as his 'target'.

"What if they're far away?"

"If they're too far, I just keep thinking about where they are until I time out, like a compass pointing to them in my mind as well as I speed up." Kit answered as Chat stood up.

"Let's practice it." Chat declared as he put up his hands. "I'll go hide, and you find me. See if you can sneak up on me. I'll call you when I found a hiding spot."

Kit agreed as Chat immediately ran off as Kit looked away to give Chat a better chance. Kit walked on his beam before hearing a voice somewhere above him. "You do know they do not trust you, right?"

Kit looked around as he raised a brow. It was a female voice. He stayed silent, and decided to not call Chat for the moment. "It is merely time before Ladybug and Chat realize your true self."

"My intentions are to help the people of Paris, I'm a hero of Paris." Kit hesitantly responded as he climbed up trying to find the source of the voice.

"It is only a matter of time for you to turn on them. Every lynx does."

Kit's stomach dropped as he heard this and saw the trace of a dark floor length skirt brushing on a beam before disappearing. Kit lurched forward, turning around the beam to see nothing.

His paw claw's handle began buzzing as Kit opened it. Chat had covered the camera as he told Kit he was ready.

Kit shook his head, ignoring the strange encounter to get back to what he was doing. "Stalk and Ambush!" Kit shouted as he immediately saw in his vision focused onto a spot in the distance that was bright and vibrant while the rest blurred. He began running to it as he noticed that his footsteps were not making a sound on the ground. As Kit grew closer, he slowed down and crouched. Chat seemed to be on a flat roof with taller roofs around it.

Chat was sitting cross legged on the roof with his eyes shut. Kit felt it was strange as he dropped down to a lower roof beside the building, instead of the taller roofs. He hooked his claw onto the ledge of the roof as he climbed up. Once his feet reached the surface, Kit immediately pounced on Chat who was glancing the other way.

Chat seemed genuinely surprised as he laughed. "Good job."

Kit sat down to catch his breath, as he heard his bracelet begin to beep.

"You should head out Kit." Chat spoke as he stood up and saluted Kit before heading off.

Kit waited a moment more before he dropped down into the alley and let go of his transformation. Nyxy let out a sigh as he sat on Gabe's shoulder.

"So that lady was weird."

"Yeah, I'm not sure who she was. Maybe it was just your imagination."

"Maybe Nyxy. Let's head home." Gabe spoke as he walked a few blocks home. As he was getting to the door, Gabe saw his father opening the door. Gabe raised a brow as Adrien saw him and gestured to a bag in his arm.

"Took an evening walk." Adrien offered with a smile as Gabe followed his dad into the house as he glanced at his phone, opening Chattin' to see Drone having messaged him. Gabe smiled at this as he followed his father upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabe opened the door as he let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the front door. He was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. He had been busy all day that Friday and would prefer to curl up forever. He had class all day, followed by a photoshoot that went almost an hour and a half later than expected. Gabe had to practically run down the streets, just as it started pouring, to make it to his audition with a completely different audition scene than originally sent out- something he wasn't prepared for. Enzo was at least kind enough to give him a lift home. The day was a mess that made him glad to go home.

Pushing off the door, Gabe headed towards the fridge to get some food, hoping for leftovers. However, there was nothing. Gabe checked his phone. Enzo already spammed him with a few different snapchat and text messages. They were mostly updates; including Tina's party that night that Enzo just arrived at; wanting his friend to join to 'unwind'.

Gabe sent back a response about being tired and just wanting food. He switched over to messenger; excited to see that Drone had been online in the last few minutes.

 _TGFD - Thank Goodness Friday's Done._

 **Long day :?**

 _Yep. School, work, practice. Finally done._

 **Bee mindful of self care. Go do something fun.**

 **Unless you find talking with me fun ;P**

 _Haha. Always_

 __Gabe looked around at the quietness as he checked the calendar. Emma was at a weekend robotics tournament, Hugo was at his friend's place for a sleepover. He remembered that his parents were going on a date, which meant Louis was at his grandparents.

His stomach grumbled as Gabe was reminded that he needed food.

 _Gah; I need food._

He didn't wait for a response before calling in his usual order when it was his choice. Chicken, bacon, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos and extra sauce and extra cheese.

 **I'll make sure to keep** _ **bug**_ **ging you when you've eaten. I know how hissy you get when hungry.**

Gabe let out a groan as he read the pun. Seriously, was Drone secretly Chat Noir's kid or something since the boy was a pun machine. Gabe changed clothes for warm and comfortable ones as he laid on his bed.

"You seem exhausted Gabe." Nyxy piped up as he floated above Gabe's head.

"Just a little too busy today." Gabe replied as he sat up.

"Make sure to take care of yourself, okay?"

"Will do." Gabe promised as he felt Nyxy come up to nuzzle his cheek before the pair headed down to wait for the pizza. Upon getting it, Gabe rushed upstairs, grabbed a plate and juice from the fridge and made a nest in the living room.

Gabe piled on two slices right away as he dug in. It was one of those moments that Gabe thought it was the best food he had experienced… but it was almost 10 hours since lunch and he was only given a few orange slices at the shoot. He let out a groan in delight before his phone went off again.

 **I know it isn't your patrol night, but feel like coming out after you've eaten?**

Gabe thought about it; he was tired but at the same time, it was Drone wanting to hang out without risk of Ladybug or Chat interrupting sounded amazing. He knew it was a Rena night.

 _Just let me finish eating and I'll meet you at the Louvre. Give me like 15?_

 **Sounds like a purrfect date.**

 ****Gabe shoved the pizza in his mouth as he went to the notepad on the counter. He scrawled a note saying that he was out with a friend and would be back later before putting the pizza away in the fridge and grabbing some jerky.

He suppressed a yawn as he patted his pocket for Nyxy. The kwami came out and immediately latched onto the jerky as he smiled at Gabe.

"Weren't you tired?"

"Yeah but Drone asked me to come out."

"So we're going on a date?" Nyxy questioned, his voice full of teasing and as he bit off another chunk of jerky. Gabe flushed before shrugging.

"Just team bonding is all. Okay Nyxy, time to prowl." Gabe stated as he opened the window and started climbing out of the house. He was quick to head to the Louvre as he saw Drone waiting for him. Kit jumped down beside him as he grinned.

Kit let out a loud sigh when he arrived behind Drone. Maybe coming out wasn't the best idea. However, seeing how Drone looked back at him with such a look of joy, it made it ALL worth it. No matter how tired he was. Kit moved to take a seat beside him as he glanced around.

"Doing a separate patrol?"

"Nah, we already finished. We buzzed through it." Drone answered as he leaned back before pushing his hand out towards Kit. In it was a cup. "Got you a drink." Kit flushed, knowing that Drone could see it even in the dark, as he took the cup. The smell of chocolate and coffee immediately caught his attention.

"It's just a mocha, you've mentioned liking them before."

"I really do. Thank you." Kit took a sip as he immediately perked up. It was basically the same as his usual order. "Wait… is that a hint of cinnamon?"

"Yeah; thought you'd enjoy it. I originally thought it bee-zare but my friend swears by it." Drone spoke hesitantly, as if still gauging Kit's reaction.

"Oh my god, well you must be perfect for me," Kit spoke while laughing. "Since this drink is heaven. I'd almost want to marry you just for this."

"I would never object." Drone offered offhandedly as Kit swore that his cheeks were positively glowing. Kit hadn't realized that he had slipped that thought out.

"Too bad though," Kit began going with it as he stammered through. "It'd be kind of hard to do that while keeping our identities … ya know, secret."

"I'd let you unmask me any time, honey." Drone teased as he leaned close. Before Kit could even process anything, a voice interrupted.

" Well I should hope to get an invitation at least." Turning around, the two saw Rena with a hand on her hip as Kit stiffened. "Didn't think you'd be out tonight Kit. Isn't it your day of?"

"Bay-bee boy came out to hang with me. Real buzz of the city." Drone smoothly answered while Kit rubbed the back of his neck. Oh god this was awkward.

"Y-yes, yeah. We- well if you needed me, I'd have come too Rena. Like for an akuma since you wouldn't ask for me to hang because that could be weird. Like imagine us going out in superhero attire for ice cream only. Totally strange. Could we even get ice cream stains off of our uniform?" Kit could tell he was rambling as he took a deep breath and stopped talking.

Rena started howling in laughter as Kit smiled. "That'd be pretty fun. Maybe a good bonding time." She winked at the pair before taking a step back. "Well, bee-have. I have to go to my own Friday night plans and I'd prefer to not be pulled away since you two get caught into something."

Rena departed as Kit let out a small sigh. That wasn't how he been planning on spending his evening but it was still nice. Looking forward, Kit decided to try and simply ignore his worries as he felt a weight on his shoulder bringing him back. Glancing over, he noticed that Drone was now using him as a pillow.

"Comfy?" Kit finally sputtered out, trying to sound a bit like Drone did when he flirted.

"Mhm." was all he got in response as Kit took another gulp of the drink, pleading the blush he had to leave his face. His only saving grace was that it was a comfortable silence.

"You do know you are like my best friend, right?" Drone asked softly. Unlike his normal confidence, it was a hesitant tone but still made Kit couldn't help but feel his stomach drop. _Friend._ "Like I trust you to always have my back. If you ever wanted, even if Ladybug disagreed, I'd share my identity."

Kit knew that Drone said friend, however, the conversation made him also swell up with a lot of feelings. His hope was still there.

"I trust you wholeheartedly; but I think that we should keep our identities secret… just until the honeymoon." Kit was hoping to lighten the mood since Drone was rarely a serious person. Drone gave Kit's hand a squeeze; not letting it go as they stared up at the stars.

-  
Gabe made it home just before his curfew. As he came up the stairs, he could hear laughter. Upon opening the door, he noticed his mother sitting on the couch with Alya, his aunt in all but literal DNA. In the kitchen were Adrien and Nino who seemed to be putting some food together. The adults were all dressed up, as if they just walked out of the five star restaurant, but made a nest in the couch turned pull out bed.

"You're home later than usual." Adrien remarked with a smile, it was an observation- Kit wasn't getting in trouble. "Honestly after seeing your schedule today I expected you'd be straight to bed when you got home."

Gabe paused as he tried to thinking for an excuse, as his cheeks blushed thinking about how he held hands with Drone until he had to leave. Alya was the first to clue in. "You had a DATE."

"W-hu-wha?" Gabe sputtered out. "I- uhm - no." Alya gasped as she ran over to pester him.

"Tell me all the details."

"Auntie, I'm tired." Gabe whined out as he sighed, knowing he couldn't escape. "Okay fine. It wasn't really a date. Since I really really like him. He got me my favourite drink and we held hands. But he also told me that he was glad to have me as his best friend…"

"Psh, that's not end game." Alya spoke as Nino chimed in.

"True. Your parents were just like that at your age."

"Yeaaahh…." Adrien spoke as he laughed. "It took me ages to figure out Mari liked me more than a friend.

Alya hugged Gabe tight as she smiled to him. "Well, we're rooting for you. You should try to show yourself as a partner instead of just his best friend." Squeezing him tighter, she chuckled. "Just know that if you are oblivious, it is from your dad whereas your mom gave you the stumbling and stuttering around your crush." Alya kissed the top of his forehead.

"Now, you may leave if you still wish."

"I'm going to," Gabe pulled away as he stretched. "It's been a long day, this binder is uncomfortable and I am way overdue for Monsieur Bed." WHen he got into his room, Nyxy immediately flew to their pillow before smiling at Gabe.

"Your aunt seems right." Gabe shrugged as he stripped before changing into a his night clothing. It was one of his dad's old t-shirts and pajama bottoms before turning off the light and crawling into bed.

"Only time will tell." Gabe muttered out with his yawn, snuggling his pillow. "G'Night."

Kit was going to slap somebody… literally. His body was out of his control as the Ghost Writer narrated what Kit was going to do. Although Ghost Writer had been aiming at Chat Noir, but Kit had hip checked him out of the way.

"Hey - coming right at you Ch-"

"Kit Lynx remains SILENT as he steals Chat's Miraculous." Ghost Writer barked from behind Kit as he rolled his eyes, no noises coming from his whenever he tried. It was unfortunate that Ghost Writer was also invisible as his eyes widened.

"BEHIND ME." Kit mouthed to Chat Noir as the cry of "Lucky Charm' was heard to his side. He was still charging Chat Noir as his body moved on its own accord. Chat Noir was kind enough to merely deflect the blows instead of knocking him out.

As Kit was pushed back once more, he felt the tingles leave his body. Pausing, Kit took a moment as he moved his fingers in various patterns before throwing his fists in the air. "HELL YEAH." He was so happy to be free.

"Kit, language!" Ladybug called out as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Oops. She walked over to him as the butterfly flew away.

"So for tonight. It's almost the same patrol, except it will be myself instead of Drone." Kit nodded, trying to hide his disappointment since he was going to surprise the Bee with honey themed treats. Shrugging it off as a way to get closer to Ladybug, he headed home.

Just as he was back in his sheets, planning on warming them up, Gabe heard a knocking. Groaning, he stood up and walked to the door. As he opened it, he exaggerated the yawn that was already trying to work its way out.

"Wow, you're actually up before noon on a weekend." Emma remarked hand on the doorway.

Gabe stuck his tongue as he began to shut the door when Emma added. "You can't go back to bed. We have brunch with grandpere Agreste." Emma seemed hesitant as Gabe's eyes widened in joy before shutting the door on Emma. Immediately, he was out of his sleeping clothes and changing into yellow pants, a galaxy print polo and a white cardigan. An outfit that Enzo had given him on his last birthday.

He threw on socks as he hopped down the hall into the bathroom, sneaking in before Hugo as older brother slammed on the door. "HEY!"

"I'll be quick!" Gabe shouted, knowing for a fact that Hugo took the longest time to style his hair- even longer if he wanted to shower. After using the toilet, brushing his teeth and hair Gabe was out. His older brother huffed at him as he was reading his phone. Hugo went into the bathroom as Gabe made two small cups of green tea, with a pot on the stove for anyone else in the family to get some too. He headed towards the living room and flopped down next to his mother who was reading a magazine as Alya's television show was on in the background.

"Reporter Extraordinaire; Alya Cesaire." was the title of her show, coming up in bright lettering as it returned from the commercial. Marinette leaned over as she pressed a quick kiss on Gabe's hair.

"Morning Gabey." Marinette spoke, using her little nickname for Gabe in a rhyming tone with baby. Gabe smiled at his mother as he gestured towards the tea.

"Just the way you like it." Gabe spoke as he tucked his feet under himself and leaned his head on Marinette's bare shoulder enjoying that she smelled as usual like vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. He was listening to Alya on the television as he tensed up when he noticed Kit Lynx and Drone on the television.

"It took me a few days of digging but I have an update on Kit and Drone. These two love bugs were caught being adorable on the rooftops. I was checking in from multiple sources and we have not just one but our five favourite fan capture pictures of the two. We recently did a poll on whether you thought these two were secretly dating. It was a whopping 65 percent of you."

Gabe nearly choked on his tea as she mentioned the percentage. He could feel his face completely red as he nuzzled his mother's shoulder until Alya swapped to the next topic. It was on Chloe Bourgeois' upcoming charity event. It was the upcoming Thursday as Gabe let out a heavy sigh, calming himself down. On the television was Chloe and Enzo sitting together.

The pair were clearly related with sharp stares and mannerisms, but Gabe knew that Enzo more closely resembled his father with his mother's height.

"Everyone ready?" Adrien called out as there was a mass of footsteps as the rest of the Dupain-Cheng's began to assemble in the main area. Marinette turned off the television as she finished her cup of tea.

The family headed down, with Adrien carrying Louis as Gabe took the rear. He was spamming Enzo text messages about no one needing to be that styled so early in the morning on a Sunday. He also sent messages to Drone that his family were all teasing him for being up early.

Neither responded as he tucked it away; knowing it wouldn't be pulled out until they were leaving the brunch. The car, more like a limo if Gabe was being accurate since what normal car could fit seven people in the back, was waiting outside as Gabe held the door open as everyone piled in. Gabriel was waiting inside as Adrien took a seat next to his father, giving him a half hug with Louis in the already installed child's seat. Emma and sat down so that there was a spot beside her for Hugo. Marinette sat beside those kids leaving the other side of Gabriel open for Gabe.

He sat beside his grandpere and smiled as Gabriel began to tell them about the restaurant. It was a newer one that catered his last work luncheon. Most conversations waited until they were seated in the restaurant. Gabe could feel the tension from his family as his three siblings and mother were rather silent compared to their norm.

Gabriel sat at the head of the table, with Gabe and Adrien on either side of him. Hugo and Emma sat beside Gabe with Marinette beside Adrien and Louis on the end, so that Marinette could help him with his meal, should it be needed. Once the food was ordered, Gabriel turned to Emma.

"So, Gabe was telling me that you have a robotics tournament?" Emma looked at Gabe before her grandfather.

"Yes, I made this small robot with a hammer and spinning disc underneath. At the competition earlier this month our team got third place. Which is good to start the season." Gabriel gave a polite nod at this, clearly lost but happy that his granddaughter seemed pleased.

"Well, I'll have to get Nathalie to keep track so I can possible see it in action." Gabriel always spoke things similar to this whenever they had dinner. Gabe kept hope that sometime he would come, but Emma and Hugo had given up on that long ago.

"So Hugo; what have you been up to? Are you still drawing?"

"Uh no. I do poetry and stuff now. It isn't a big deal, just for fun." Hugo offered up, kind of putting an end to the conversation but that was normal for him since he was quiet. The food arrived as Louis decided to take the stage, telling his grandpere that he learned about triceratops and that they were the coolest thing ever. It was a nice conversation as Gabe smiled. To him, this was great, although everyone else seemed tense. Gabriel was genuinely interested. He did ask about the rest of the family whenever Gabe was at a shoot with Gabriel.

"What about you Gabe? You were telling me that you had an audition."

Gabe nodded, his mouth full of omelette as he tried to politely chew it as quickly as possible.

"Yeah. I gave Nathalie the hours already. They haven't told me which part I got yet just that they do want me in the play once more."

"Really? That's great to hear Gabe." Marinette spoke as she leaned over and patted his hand. Gabriel seemed to prepare on something he wanted to say when suddenly his phone began to ring.

"Fath-" Adrien began as Gabriel sighed.

"I have to take this." Gabriel stood up, setting his napkin on the table as he stepped out of the restaurant.

Adrien made a face as Hugo and Emma began chatting with one another about how 'he's too much of a workaholic.'

Gabe looked at them as he raised a brow. "It's his business- just like Grandmere and Grandpere Dupain-Cheng with theirs." he tried defending as he looked at his parents for help but they seemed to be stepping out of this. Gabriel returned soon after as he held his hands behind his back.

"There's an emergency I must deal with." Gabriel spoke as he turned more to Adrien. "The bill has been covered. Please call Gorilla whenever you all are ready to head home."

Adrien nodded, his smiling dropping a bit as he wished his father safe travels. .


	4. Chapter 4

"Just a few more photos!" the photographer yelled out as Gabe masked the pain in his expression, keeping his 'curious wonder' expression. Reaching up, while on his tiptoes was not a nice pose to hold onto. Monsieur Spencer was telling Gabe that he needed to be stretching up and 'grabbing a star' which was nowhere in sight at the moment but would be added later. It was starting to get quite dark out, especially compared to how it was when they started around dusk. They had been fantastic about giving him breaks in the beginning, the longer the photoshoot went on, the more Spencer told him to 'Hold strong to help make up lost time."

From the sidelines, he could hear his ringtone as he glanced at the photographer. It had been going off for a few minutes and Gabe knew it was the alarm for his patrol reminder. He wasn't sure why he agreed to a Monday photoshoot or even patrol but Gabe was terrible at saying no to the team members.

"I really need to get going-" Gabe began, lowering his feet to give his calves a break, as the photographer stood up and tsking.

"You don't understand Gabe, we have finally got the perfect atmosphere. Stopping now would be a crime." the photographer muttered something to the assistant next to him. "What if the perfect photo is mere seconds away? You could be famous from it."

"I'm not doing this for fame though-"

"But you do want to do a great job, oui?"

Gabe immediately felt the guilt on wanting to leave as he started to nod when a sharp voice rang out.

"Monsieur Spencer, I am afraid that Mr. Dupain-Cheng does have a tight schedule, especially as a student. You were given more than enough time to be prepared when he arrived with a week's notice of this rescheduling that you chose. Should you require more time, you may request another session."

Nathalie turned to him as she gestured for Gabe to follow her. "Your father is here waiting for you."

Gabe let out a confused noise as he followed Nathalie towards his bag and phone, shutting off the alarm. When they got there, Nathalie stopped him from heading towards the parking lot.

"Your father is not actually here. However, it was clear Monsieur Spencer would not let up otherwise. Would you like a ride home?"

"No thank you Nathalie. I have an optional play practice I wanted to go to." Waving, Gabe shouted back "Goodnight Nathalie!"  
He was running down the roads until he could find a nice empty area to transform, tossing his backpack onto the fire escape as he passed by his house. Deciding to let loose, Kit jumped to his heart's content and running to let out everything stressing him out. Logically, Kit knew he should do the patrol slower, but he didn't stop his face pace until he was out of breath and needing to take a break for both Nyxy and himself.

Kit checked in with his kwami to make sure he was fine before sitting down on a rooftop. Nyxy came first, so he would have found the nearest place to get jerky and then hid out while his best friend ate. Panting, Gabe was grinning ear to ear as he thought about his two best friends and that it was fantastic the idea of those two ever interacting… although it'd be highly unlikely with his secret identity.

Hearing footsteps, Gabe sat up and looked back, only to see that it was Chat Noir, he was happy as he wrapped his arms around his knees, breathing still trying to slow down from his running.

You really were going through patrol fast tonight."

"I just kind of started late and then just kind of felt the need to get some pent up energy out." Kit explained calmly as he shrugged.

Chat sat down beside him as he started speaking. "Actually, while I got your for a moment, I have a question."

Kit started nodding his head as he smiled. "Yeah, sure. Anything." Kit immediately assumed that it had something to deal with all of the Kit and Drone rumours, which was starting to be known as Drit and other combinations of their names from what he heard around.

"Your miraculous skill… the tracking one, how come you can't use it to find Hawk Moth again?"

"Oh," Kit spoke with a slight deflation in his voice before kind of shrugging. "I've never met him or have anything of his to lock onto. I tried a couple times with the butterflies but all it did was led me to the akumatized victims."

"Okay, thanks." Chat began before turning and smiling. "Milady asked me about it the other day when we were chat-ting and I told her I'd ask you."

Kit took a moment when he heard this as his costume's ears flattened on his head. He had worked with Ladybug last night and the group chatted for a few minutes when she could have definitely asked him herself… but she never did.

Chat saw the despair and worry on Kit's face as Chat decided to change the topic. He put a hand on Kit's shoulder. "Hey, why don't I show you a neat trick involving your belt? I think it could be good for you." As he said this, Chat pulled his own tail belt off. "It'll be fun."

Kit nodded slowly as he pulled his own off. "That sounds great."

After some practice, Kit told Chat that he was going to head home since he wanted to get plenty of sleep before class the next day. However, instead of heading home. Kit went to the Eiffel Tower and sat down. Once he dropped the transformation, the pulling sensation quit. He was exhausted and wanted to forget as he crawled into his room, making sure to bring his backpack with him as he sat at his desk for a bit.

There was some homework to be done, so he did enough to at least say he put in the effort before flopping to his bed, having ignored his phone for once in his life except to plug it in to charge. He didn't have the social energy at the moment. Gabe gave his honest attempt to try sleeping, but changing positions, less blankets, more blankets, and any other tricks he knew were not helping him this time.

By the time his clock showed 3am, Gabe huffed and got out of bed. He fetched a glass of water before finishing his homework since it was at least something productive he could _try._ He still felt like sleep would evade him so Gabe crawled onto the fire escape in hopes that the cool air would help him after checking that Nyxy was still sleeping soundly.

He was planning on just playing a game, but decided it was best to check his messages first. Of course Drone had messaged him. Mainly that homework sucked and he was so bored with his friends busy.

Gabe decided to just ramble his thoughts into messenger with Drone.

 _So I hate the nights where you cannot sleep like they are possibly the worst. Like I have so many things running through my mind right now which makes it worse. I REALLY doubt that Ladybug actually trusts me right now? Like I know she is firm about stuff but it just feels like next level with me. When I started over six months ago, I could understand this but I've been honest and the others seem to trust me… you'd think she could trust me now. Instead of asking me something on our last patrol together, she gets Chat to ask me instead. It was a simple question. It kind of hurts that she doesn't even bother to ask me but how can I tell LADYBUG, the OG hero that. Maybe I'm being paranoid… idk?_

 _Plus, my best friend is all about the superhero gossip and stuff. I pretend to be neutral but it bugs me hearing all the rumours about us and hearing that some people talk about shipping creeps me out sometime since that's actually me he's shipping. Like for all I know, my sister could ship us and write us in some weird office AU, with a ridiculous explanation on why we're called Kit and Drone. Although… everyone assumes we are great kissers and like super in shape even though I definitely ate a huge bag of chips as dinner today. Although, I can completely see the appeal to kissing you. However, still strange. Does it get better with time?_

Gabe didn't think twice before he sent it since he was _way_ too tired to care in that moment. He couldn't even explain that ramble's path but it worked to help him get some of his frustrations out without getting into the details that could really reveal himself. Gabe also wasn't worried since he knew that Drone was one of those people to put his phone on Do Not Disturb at night.

Gabe decided to switch over to his Snapchat quickly, responding to Enzo's mass of photos from dinner with his dad and Nath's partner Marc. It was a simple selfie that was very dark, where you could just make the person shape figure out.

'Cant sleep :c rip me' was the caption on it as he sent it to Enzo and stretched.

Tomorrow...or rather later today was going to be long. In the morning he had some class presentation, a test and then had to get his T-Shot. All of that was nerve wracking enough, but to add being sleep deprived was terrible for any singular of these things… let alone all.

Crawling back into his room, Gabe curled up on his bed as he tried thinking of nice thoughts to get him to sleep, playing some crime show on his tablet that would be a soothing and constant voice to focus on. It worked eventually for him, however, he woke up to Emma shaking him.

"Gabe, come on you're going to be late. This is like the eighth time I've tried to wake you… I need to leave since I cannot be late." Gabe's eyes shot open as he noticed the clock, he had around 10 minutes until classes started. Gabe was normally out of the house by now with an eight minute walk to school from the front door.

"Go go, I'm up!" Gabe spoke as he jumped up to find some clean clothes for the day. Unfortunately, the only clean binder was old and ill fitting and the pants were the tightest ones he had since he was procrastinating on laundry. Instead of neatly packing stuff into his backpack, he just shovelled everything from the middle of his desk into his backpack before grabbing his electronics.

He ran down the hall to the door as he stumbled trying to get his shoes on quickly before called out a 'BYE!' towards anyone that was in the house, likely his parent before running down the stairs and towards the school.

Gabe would rather not run most days but he didn't have much of a choice. He couldn't really afford detention. As he got to the school steps, he noticed some people outside still which made him hopeful that he would not run late.

This was not good, and Gabe would rather not run but he didn't have a choice. Even when his phone was going off, he ignored it in hopes of making it on time. As he got to the school steps, Gabe noticed a few people around the steps which made him hopeful that he wouldn't be late. Gabe rushed up the stairs, trying to take two at a time only to immediately catch his foot and face planting into the stairs, which was followed by some snickering of his peers. Picking himself up, Gabe huffed as he dusted himself off and sent a glare at the stairs. Looking up at the courtyard's clock, he noticed that there was still 2 minutes left, which meant that he could at least take the rest of the stairs more carefully.

As he arrived to his homeroom, Gabe noticed Enzo standing in front of it. The taller boy smiled as he handed over a small bag. "Marc felt bad for your sleep deprivation and made you a breakfast sandwich."

"Marc is the greatest person ever, with you being just as fantastic for delivering this. Thank you." Gabe was so happy as he waved Enzo off before walking through the doorway, shoving the breakfast sandwich in his mouth. He was pretty sure it was just a basic egg on an english muffin with cheese but it was amazing to him since he expected to simply not eat until that afternoon.  
As he finished the sandwich, Gabe heard the teacher come in and start role call. After his name, Gabe began to tune out, pulling out his tablet to take notes and his phone to check it since he was now curious.

Sure enough, there was a few messages from Enzo checking if he woke up and talking about the breakfast sandwich awaiting him. Enzo got his answer already, so Gabe just sent a thank you to Enzo's number and Nathaniel's towards Marc. Gabe opened the messenger app to see that Drone had read his message but didn't respond yet.

"Monsieur Dupain-Cheng?" He heard as Gabe turned off his phone, shoving it in his pocket.

"Yeah?"

"Your presentation?" the teacher asked as he flushed in embarrassment of being caught not paying attention. A few classmates laughed as he shruged it off.

"Oh … right." Shoving his phone in his pocket, he sighed and began the day. It was going to be fine, he had hopes.

Nope. His day was far from fine. He almost wanted to make it into a novel about just how much of a terrible, no good, sucky kind of day. Instead of the wonderful powerpoint he had made, the presentation glitched out and ended up corrupting his only copy of the presentation. Which led to Gabe trying to recall everything from his memories in front of his 19 classmates, it was pure awkwardness due to the judgement he felt… even if it wasn't entirely actually there.

Afterwards, during his gym class, Gabe was forced to do the beep test where he had to run from one point to another before the stupid beep went off. Each time, the beeps got closer together. It was about halfway through, when Gabe started feeling the exhaustion hit. The teacher didn't believe him, and assumed Gabe was trying to slack. He demanded that Gabe keep going even after failing until the period ended. So Gabe was sweaty and gross when he went into his math test. He already knew he did poorly on it since he knew less than half of what he was supposed to on it.

The straw that broke the camel's back, or in this case Lynx's back, was that he was still alone sitting on a bench outside of the clinic waiting for his father. Usually his father would collect him out of school thirty minutes before the appointment and if he was running late, the school knew about his appointment and Gabe would meet him at the clinic.

This time was different though, there was around five minutes until his appointment and Adrien wasn't even answering his phone, in fact it was going to voicemail every time. Just the thought of having to do this himself made Gabe panic. His siblings, and Enzo were both in class, Grandparents Dupain-Cheng were likely in their lunch rush and Marinette had a very important business call with someone overseas that Gabe did not want to interrupt. That left only one family member that could get here in time that he could call as he started calling his grandfather without really thinking.

Nathalie answered as he started regretting this and panicking as he tried to explain to Nathalie he'd just call back later. She was wise though, and decided to put him through to Gabriel.

"Gabe, why aren't you in class?" Gabriel immediately asked, no greeting as Gabe rubbed his face with one hand, faking a smile even though Gabe couldn't see it.

"Ha, yeah normally? Today is the day I normally get my shot with dad here to help… but he isn't here." Gabe began as he sighed. 'I don't know if he is on his way or not and I… I can't do this without someone present because of the needle." Gabe began rambling as he squeezed his eyes. "It's stupid, I knew you'd be busy like everyone else… sorry for calling you Grandpere…"

"I can join you if that's what you are asking."

"Please?" Gabe pleaded as his voice became more cheerful. "The clinic is literally around the corner from your office."

"Okay I believe I know the one you are talking about. I will be there soon… in the meantime, check in with the clinic." Gabriel spoke before hanging up. He was still quite nervous as he headed upstairs to the clinic. The nurse there recognized him and smiled as he went through the usual paperwork to ensure there was no nasty side effects or anything different. The nurse was nice and quite respectful about pronouns since the first day Gabe came in, giving him a sense of comfort there.

A few of the chairs were taken as Gabe took the furthest one and sat down on the plastic chair, fiddling with his backpack strap. Every time the door opened, Gabe's head shot up in hopes of a familiar blond. Just as he was about to give up, since he was getting called in any minute, Gabriel walked in. Instead of seeming so casual, Gabriel had a commanding presence that drew everyone's attention to his form fitting suit as he walked over, grimaced and sat on the plastic chair.

"Thank you for coming Grandpere." Gabe spoke softly.

"It is not a problem." Gabriel spoke as he stared forward. "Nathalie is trying to connect with your father to let him know I am here."

The pair was called in as Gabe led the way, trying to give his grandfather the most basic notes he could about what was going to happen. Gabe would get the shot in the thigh, like he did every week by the nurse. Both sat down on the examination table, as Gabe let out a sigh of relief from someone being physically close in that moment.

The nurse was definitely surprised by having someone new there but did not say anything for she likely knew who it was and didn't feel like potentially causing trouble.

The nurse seemed taken aback by this new person with Gabe but didn't question it as she went through the regular assessment questions before beginning to prep the needle.

Gabriel saw the tension in his grandson as he began talking, grabbing onto Gabe's hand. "Your grandmother was the same when it came to needles. It was quite unfortunate that she required so many for checking to ensure Adrien and herself were fine during the pregnancy.. There was one time shortly after your father was born, she was on a movie set and I got this call. It was a scene where she was acting as a patient, and they brought a fake needle. No one told her this as she broke down with the idea of having this so close to her. She was embarrassed since she was known for being so professional during filming." Gabriel gave Gabe's hand a squeeze. "So, after I calmed her down they had to redo the scenes but without the needle. Then they filmed from a different perspective with the needle for the scene… she never actually watched that finished movie. Only work she never watched. "

Gabe listened intently as he clung to his grandfather's, listening to the words when he got his shot. The nurse was putting some pressure on the spot, before moving Gabe's free hand to do that while she got a bandage. They would keep him there a few minutes to ensure everything was okay before sending him off.

"All done." Gabriel spoke as he smiled at Gabe. "You were very good."

"T-thanks." Gabe spoke as he looked down at his lap and smiled. "I know they're helpful but just having that needle near me freaks me out. I hate how they feel in my skin and the idea of them. The last time I tried doing it without my dad I passed out in fear and hit my head on the floor."

"Well next time, you can call me again." Gabriel spoke as he heard the door open. Adrien came in, a complete mess as he looked at Gabe.

"I am so sorry Gabe- the department head decided to pull me into an urgent meeting and it took me forever to get out. Then the traffic..." Adrien finally processed that his father was there as he straightened up. "Father-"

"I called him since i was scared." Gabe rushed out as Gabriel smiled at his son.

"Unfortunate but it happens. Should it next time, please let me know." was all Gabriel said as he noticed the nurse come in to give Gabe the okay to leave. "It was nice to see Gabe outside of work."

As Gabe stood up and grabbed his things, he could hear Gabriel and Adrien chatting quietly behind him.

"Well why don't you join us for lunch?" Adrien asked as Gabriel shook his head.

"I am afraid I can't. Work needs me." Adrien's expression flattened a bit as Gabe grimaced. He could just tell that Adrien felt bad; needing his dad to come in and do what Adrien normally did in his busy schedule.

"Okay well, we'll do dinner soon, okay?"

"Sounds nice." Gabriel spoke as he walked out. "Have a good day Gabe."

"Bye Grandpere." Gabe called out before following his dad out. They went to the restaurant across the road as Gabe flopped into his chair with a long sigh pressing the palm of his hand into his eyes a bit.

"Rough day kiddo?" Adrien questioned as he leaned over the table a bit, hand immediately going to Gabe's forehead, worrying about his son being sick. "You have a little fever."

"Just rotten luck and I'm exhausted I think." Gabe admitted as he began to tell his dad all the bad luck that happened in that day. He eventually sat up when the waitress came, getting their usual order as Gabe then leaned his arms on the table. "I just want the afternoon classes to go quick. I feel like garbage and want a nap."

Adrien eyed his son for a moment as he asked. "Is there any assignments or presentations?"

When Gabe shook his head, Adrien gave a single nod. "Okay… in that case, I think it could be fine to keep you signed out for the rest of the day. You've been busy lately and could use a break."

Gabe's eyes widened as he smiled at his dad. "Really?"

"Yeah," Adrien spoke. "We can just get the taxi home since I have no afternoon classes. If you want, you can nap or watch a movie."

"...Could we watch something with grandma in it?" Gabe questioned as Adrien seemed taken aback. "Grandpere was just mentioning her earlier so I was curious about her movies."

"Sure bud."

The two ate their food happily, as Adrien told Gabe some of the silly stories from his students that day before the pair headed home. Adrien pulled out a dvd from his office as Gabe changed into sweats. "This is the first film I ever saw her in. There's a great story about it." Adrien said as sat down after putting the dvd in.

"So, there was a perfume ad I was in so fans were going crazy and i had snuck out of the house. I ended up running into your mom in her pajamas. She agreed to help hide me, and we hid in the theater where this was playing. Didn't get to see all of it due to an akuma. But later that day, your grandfather took me there to watch it. It's called Solitude and I had to get your grandfather to make me a copy from his own since it is so hard to find."

The movie began as Gabe's eyes were focused on the screen. It was black and white with a woman walking holding an umbrella. Glancing at his dad, Gabe could see the sorrow in his eyes. That must have been Emilie Agreste. Gabe moved a bit so he could hug his dad as they continued watching the movie in silence. Towards the end, Gabe began to drift off as he tried his best to stay awake. By the time Adrien was going to pause it in the credits, he heard the soft snoring of his son. Smiling, Adrien pushed the hair out of Gabe's face and moved carefully to pick Gabe up.

Even with bulking up and puberty, Gabe was still light for Adrien to carry, but that could be thanks to his alterego. He laid him in bed, and pulled out Gabe's phone, not checking it but rather simply plugging it in to charge. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss onto Gabe's forehead before walking out of the room. Adrien shut the door as he leaned against the wall beside it. Plagg came out as he looked at Adrien.

"You know I'm surprised you never showed the kids that movie before."

"Honestly, we tried when they were younger but they weren't interested." Adrien spoke as he smiled. "I feel bad for being late, but it was great to see my father actually involved in helping his grandkids."

"I really think if you guys gave him more of a chance, it'd be good for all of them."

"Maybe."


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my goodness. This semester has been stressful, I have exams and assignments due next week but then I'm free... mostly. I'll still be working one of my two jobs until near Christmas which isn't too long of hours at least. Sorry about the delay in this... my laptop decided to start sparking out the charger port/trying to shock me and cannot be fixed. Which meant i had to redo this all again.**

 **Anyways, there's a lot of goodies in here and I hope you enjoy!**

Gabe was confused when he woke up later that evening and he was in his bed. He was certain he was last watching a movie with this dad. Ignoring that, he thought more about his dreams revolving around Hawk Moth and falling so now he was covered in sweat. The clock beside him read 10pm as he stood up and headed towards the shower; he felt disgusting.

Gabe took his time in the shower as plans were thought out about how to try and see if he could find Hawk Moth. He changed into his pajamas as he walked over to his desk where Nyxy was resting on the plush Nyxy; eyes open so he clearly wasn't sleeping.

"I have a plan." Gabe spoke as he started rambling away. The plan was simple and Gabe even wrote down the main points and doodling some diagrams.

Step 1: Get a lot of jerky

Step 2: Transform and head to Eiffel Tower

Step 3: Stalk and Pounce

Step 4: Go whatever direction you're pulled.

Step 5: Take break during time out.

Step 6: Repeat 2 onwards until goal is reached.

Gabe was confident as he leaned back in his chair. "Well?"

"There's just one issue I see."

"Oh?"

"How will we trace him without being Hawk Moth? There is a kwami involved so we cannot expect him to always be villained up."

"True!" Gabe spoke as he hit his forehead. "So... "

"We have to chase him while someone is akumatized."

"How will we get the signal?"

"It'll be easier to follow him while he's connected to his kwami." Nyxy explained. "It's how some of the last of my Kits found their peers."

Gabe looked at the kwami, questioning his words as the small creature's ears flattened on his head, almost as if in embarrassment. Gabe decided to let the thought go in that moment.

"Okay, so we need to wait."

" 'Fraid so." the kwami responded as Gabe decided it would be nice to stretch and get out before doing his homework and so the two transformed and headed out. It was a lovely night and they headed towards the Place de la Bastille. He got on the roof before transforming back so he had access to his phone in his pocket. Gabe took a photo from his view and sent it to Drone. If he wasn't out patrolling, then he should see it and may come to hang out.

Gabe smiled as he got the reply of 'omw' with a gif following of a bee blowing a heart. Gabe rolled his eyes before transforming back to Kit as he laid on the rooftop and gazed at the stars.

"It may sound _far-fetched,_ but you had just been pawing through my mind." a voice spoke as Kit broke out into laughter.

"Did yo-you run out of cat jokes?" Kit questioned as he leaned up a bit as Drone put a hand on one of Kit's. If he had been doing well with his stuttering that was out the window.

"Thought I'd change it up a bit; Rena isn't a fan when I use the dog and canine ones on her so I have a whole network of them on standby. Chat and I actually came up with a list of them." Drone admitted as Kit was more focused on the hand resting over his and trying to remain calm. "So, what are you up to this evening?"

"Just wanted to get out and do something before bed."

"You sure you just didn't need to see me and hope for a good night's kiss?"

Kit turned red as he tried laughing it off. Surely Drone was just teasing him for the sake of teasing.

"Do you give that offer to the entire team or am I just special?"

"You're just that special. You know… when I got this kwami I immediately knew I needed to do something. Being Chat 2.0 seemed better than everyone comparing me to Chloe at my age. With you, I can be a bit more open since you get it. We have tall shadows to follow. "

Drone spoke and Kit could hear a slightly different tone in Drone's voice. It was softer and almost seemed to have a vulnerability that was missing from his normal conversation. Drone reeked of confidence- which was likely was Chloe had chosen him as her successor; although it was surprising that he also hadn't revealed his identity to the world.

Kit leaned over a bit, as if he were telling him a secret.

"Well I wouldn't change anything about you. I appreciate you thinking of me as special." Kit spoke as his eyes looked down to stare at their hands, taking a risk, he turned his hand around so he could intertwine their fingers together. Drone seemed to be the one to flush slightly as Kit smiled. "You're special to me too."

His heart was racing and Kit was praying that this was actually happening and not some sort of cruel dream as he closed his eyes to lean forward. His lips pressed against Drone's. They were thinner than Gabe's but still quite soft and almost cheesily there was a taste of honey; likely from a lip balm.

Kit pulled back as he let out an awkward laugh. This was only his second kiss ever, first time for a serious crush; his first having gone to Enzo as part of a dare during Emma's birthday party two years ago.

"I probably should have asked if that were cool first-" Kit offered as Drone's other hand pulled Kit's face back to his, lips smashing against his own. This was a different sensation compared to the innocence and sweetness of the kiss beforehand. The exact emotion was hard to describe; not exactly excitement, or happiness, or affection. Kit's brain only could come up with "!" to describe how it felt. Kit was awkward in his return of this kiss, noses bumping as the pair tried to learn the other's movements and instincts. Drone let go of Kit's hand as he put the other onto Kit's other cheek. In turn Kit rested his on Drone's sides, softly moving them up and down.

They continued to kiss on the rooftop for a quite a bit of time until both noticed the sound of a nearby clock striking to midnight. Kit rested his forehead on Drone's as he sighed. "We both have school in the morning." he spoke, although his tone gave it away that Kit was considering ignoring that fact… even if logic told him to go home.

"Yeah…" Drone spoke before he leaned over and pressed his lips against Kit's once more. "Well, I guess this means we'll just have to continue this the next time we see each other."

"That'll be on patrol with Ladybug, dork."

"Oh I'm sure we can find places to sneak kisses." Drone teased as he waggled his eyebrows. "I'd be more worried about the news finding out about our buzzworthy information."

"We'll see." Kit spoke as he grinned and stood up. The two waved each other off before heading in different directions. When Kit got home, he dropped on the fire escape before crawling into his window and letting go of his transformation. As much as he tried, Gabe couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. He finally knew that Drone was actually seriously interested in him and they kiss! Hopping onto his bed, Gabe was grinning and pulling a pillow to his body tightly. His first instinct was to message Enzo about this when Gabe felt his stomach drop.

Could he tell anyone about this? What would he say about his mysterious beau? _He couldn't very well say he was out making out with Drone._ As for a fake name, Gabe was a terrible liar- anyone who knew him could tell you that. If his parents were to even jokingly ask if Gabe was a superhero, everything would blow up. Deciding it would be a problem for a later day, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Drone.

 _Night -3- (Also are u really that extra to have honey lip balm?)_

 **Honey is great for you. Besides you didn't mind ;). Sleep tight and have bee-utiful dreams.**

Gabe flushed more as he shut the messenger to check his other messages. He had quite a few from the theater group chat. It was talking about rehearsals on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and that the next day they'd meet with parts being revealed but that they did confirm the musical was going to be an american one called, Be More Chill. The premise was interesting and the director had a good way to bring more comedy into it.

Another message was from Enzo in a private message. He was backstage crew usually and close friends with the director since they were in the same class so he always knew things ahead of time.

 **Don't tell anyone, but you got one of the best characters in the play. Lots of speaking lines and pretty important to the plot. Also a solo song :D :D :D :D You'll find out more tmmrw.**

Gabe lit up reading this as he held his phone to his chest. Everything was starting to work out for him as he decided he needed to sleep as he reluctantly tucked his phone away before he tried to read more.

-  
He didn't sleep much, waking up with excitement every hour or so and decided that he should get up at the time he heard someone else's alarm, do his homework that he put off and head out. His work went quickly before Gabe changed his clothes and headed towards the kitchen where Adrien was already up with a cup of tea and making food. Although he hadn't grown up cooking- Adrien was quite happy making basic recipes thanks to Marinette's help. Gabe glanced over to make sure it wasn't french toast, since Adrien was decent at most things but french toast was one of those things that he ALWAYS messed up leaving a gross raw mess. It was scrambled eggs as Gabe grabbed some tea for himself since for once he didn't have the rush of breakfast.

Adrien turned around, almost expecting someone else as his eyes widened when he saw his son.

"Gabe!" Adrien spoke as he smiled. "What got you up so early?"

"I think falling asleep so early helped… and being hungry from no dinner." Gabe offered as he sat down nearby.

"That's a start, maybe going to bed earlier will help you in the morning."

"I doubt it, mom and I will always sleep in." Gabe teased as Adrien rolled his eyes a bit with a chuckle.

"Just so you know, you kids are on your own for dinner tonight. Your mother and I are going to take Grandpere and Grandmere Dupain Cheng out for their business' anniversary. Emma mentioned she had plans so Alya is watching Louis."

"I have rehearsal tonight anyways."

"Oh you got in the play?"

"Yeah! I don't know what part yet but Enzo said it was a great character."

"I'm proud of you. When you get a chance put the dates on the calendar for rehearsals." Adrien spoke before gesturing to Gabe's leg. "How is it?"

"Sore as usual. It's fine. How's work?"

"Good. This batch of students are asking a lot of interesting questions. We have an experiment later today for them to do that I am hoping will go smoothly or else I'll be there for awhile cleaning up like last year."

Other footsteps were heard as the rest of the family began to come out in the process of their morning routine as the two decided to drop the conversation. Emma came in as she was beaming; looking like quite the morning person.

"Only a few more days until the competition!" Emma exclaimed as she grabbed food, ignoring the fact that Gabe was actually up and simply turning to him. "Remember to set-"

"I Know, I know. Set multiple alarms and don't get kicked out if anyone in the crowd remarks that you're just impressive 'for a girl'." Gabe laughed as Emma nodded with a sigh of relief. "Still going to argue with them… just I won't get kicked out this time."

Emma and Adrien almost mirrored each other with their exasperated sighs as Gabe chuckled. It happened one time and he was never going to live it down so he chose to use it to his advantage. Emma had to go to the school early, so Gabe decided to join her because he was already up.

The moment the pair were headed to the school though, that was when Emma striked.

"Why were you up so early?" Emma squinted as she poked him in the arm. "You didn't sleep, did you?"

"What… of course I did." Gabe tried to lie as she gave him an unimpressed look. He caved a few moments later. "Okay, I did try to sleep but I was too excited and happy. I snuck out last night."

"Why?"

"To see my online friend?"

"...your online friend. Christe, did you even know what they looked like? How do you know it wasn't a catfishing thing?"

"We've video chatted before. I know he was legit and well…"

Emma's eyes gleamed as she clued in. "You went on a date."

"Kind of? Sort of… not officially but we kissed." Gabe offered his face turning bright red before he tensed. "PLEASE don't tell anyone though Emma, we want to keep it on the downlow for a bit."

"I don't know-"

"Emmaline Sabine Dupain-Cheng you cannot tell anyone!" Gabe exclaimed, his voice cracking as Emma laughed at him and hugged Gabe close.

"I promise I won't." she spoke as she kissed the top of his head before letting him go. "I'm happy for you- so many good things are happening for you this year."

Gabe tried to let the embrace linger as he shrugged. "I guess."

"Seriously, compare yourself to this point last year. You've opened up and got back into your interests, and actually seem happy." Emma was staring forward as she smiled. "It's nice to see you happy in your own skin."

"I'm getting there." Gabe offered as he looked down, smiling ear to ear at his sister. Deciding to be vulnerable, he added. "You're the best sister Emma."

"That's my job as your big sister...also I'm the best since I'm currently your only one." They arrived at the school as Gabe let Emma go to practice as he went to the library. He decided to start researching as he opened an incognito browser. Nyxy poked his head out of Gabe's shirt looking at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to learn more about the Miraculous." Gabe responded. "I know there's museum exhibits but I don't want to wait until I can go there. The more we know, the better this could go."

"Okay…" Nyxy responded, his eyes avoiding Gabe as Gabe raised a brow.

"Nyxy… what's up?"

"Just… don't be concerned if you find the Kit history. I don't really want to get into it, but I can just say some have been less than pleasant."

"Okay Nyxy." Gabe spoke as he moved his hand to hold Nyxy's much smaller one. "Just know, I don't blame you for any of it since I know that was out of your hand sometime. Look at Hawk Moth's kwami. I'm sure that they don't want to do that."

"Nooroo definitely doesn't." Nyxy responded as he then flew down to Gabe's pocket once more. He found a few articles and emailed them to himself on his tablet when it was close to class time.

He had tried to pay attention, but for a great deal of it, he was focused on the readings he got off the computer. It was fascinating to see the history of Ladybug and Chat Noir since they were the popular two that always made an appearance. Mentions of Kits, or even Hawk Moth were lesser. Around lunch time, he found an article that really sparked his interest since it seemed to be a thorough history of the Miraculous from the library. However, this seemed to be a less than trustworthy source since it was a few pages into the search and was from a news article he hadn't heard much of- and if he had, it was mostly things that were negative, claiming things that Gabriel Agreste had died three different times, that Adrien wasn't speaking to his father and other things. Although sometimes they seemed to have a grain of truth according to Aunt Alya. 

_...rarely seen in history, most notably in Egypt and the 1890s. Both of these Kits were infamous since they both were the murderers of their other heroes. The one in the 1890s struck our Ladybug down when she was working towards capturing the fiend, Jack the Ripper. It was a gruesome scene with the body never truly being found- simply the remnants of a fight. This Kit was only stopped when our hero, Chat Noir stepped in and slain Kit. Although it seemed an overreaction, one must applaud Chat for doing this to prevent more heroes from falling. After all, there had been at least 4 other heroes whom were never seen once again after Kit came into the scene._

 _However, the newest Kit seems to be closely monitored by our Chat Noir and Ladybug. We doubt that this will happen once more, but one must worry about this possibility for Paris is already dealing with Hawk Moth and Mayura._

Gabe checked the date of the article, it was from about four months ago. He leaned back in his chair as he looked around before shooting his hand up.

"Yes?"

"Can I be excused to the washroom."

"Yes but hurry back." Gabe nodded as he walked quickly to the bathroom, making sure no one was in the room before he nudged for the kwami to come out.

"So, the last Kit murdered the others?"

"There's a lot to the story, but yes." Nyxy spoke as he flattened his ears. "I didn't want to tell you in case you thought that was your fate. The Chat felt a lot of guilt later when they realized what their motivation was and that's why they chose to hide me here in Paris."

Gabe nodded as he let out a deep sigh. "Is there any way to get more information about us and if we can actually find Hawk Moth?"

"You could find the Miraculous Master?"

"Wouldn't they want you back?"

"Maybe, but we could try to talk to them." Nyxy replied. "But I don't know where they live. I can go out and try to find one of the others to ask them for the location, if you're cool with that."

"Of course, I don't mind if you go out Nyxy. I'll stay here so you know where to find me and you know where we practice if you're running late."

Nyxy nodded as he flew out the window. Gabe back towards his class, nervous for what the kwami would find.

Nyxy decided first that he would look for Plagg, since although he was a bit snide and lazy, was the one who Nyxy was less scared of. Using stalk and pounce was easy for him, and immediately knew where Plagg was. Unlike with his holder, he got the quickest path and clear indications of the target. Nyxy flew as fast as he could towards the spot as he arrived at the building. He recognized it but couldn't put his paw on it as he flew into a window and towards the small room that Plagg was in with only one person who Nyxy guessed was the Chat Noir but still tried to be sneaky while doing so.

In the room, he noticed a man at the desk, focused on sheets on the table and resting nearby on the windowsill was Plagg. Nyxy flew over as he poked the other kwami. "Hey." he whispered, hoping that Chat Noir wouldn't hear him.

Plagg, of course, ruined that by immediately yelling loudly from surprise.

"Plagg be quiet!" Nyxy hissed as he tried covering the cat's mouth but it was too late as he noticed Chat Noir looking at him. Nyxy's eyes widened since he _knew_ that person. If he could faint, he probably would have since it was his own Holder's father.

"H..h...hi?" Nyxy spoke up as he waved to Chat Noir.

"Hi." Chat Noir spoke. "I don't think we've met before."

"Chat this is Nyxy. You probably can guess what he is." Chat Noir smiled at him as he held out his hand.

"It's a pleasure, but I need to ask, is Kit nearby."

Nyxy shook his head, quite nervous. "Uhm… no. He's at school. I just came since I needed to ask Plagg something."

"Is Kit okay?"

"Yeah, 'course. I wouldn't leave him alone if he wasn't." Nyxy spoke immediately, noticing his fur rising before pausing and relaxing. "Sorry, I'm just protective of him."

"I get it, don't worry." Chat spoke as Nyxy couldn't help but nod. Of course he would, they were protective over the same person but Nyxy couldn't really tell anyone that. They were forbidden from revealing the other's names. "What do you need though?"

"How can we reach the current Master?"

"Now why do you want to see Master Fu? He's not seen you in YEARS." Plagg responded as Nyxy shot him a look. "Don't you think that'll be a long annoying conversation."

"We have some questions."

"I don't know…" Plagg began as he sat between the two. "You sure this isn't ulterior motives."

"Plagg-" "Of course not!"

"Just saying, it's very sudden and we had a few bad Kits over the last while..."

"And what about the _bad Chat Noirs._ You wouldn't blame Nooroo for what's happening." Nyxy responded, he knew was purposely teasing him as Plagg smirked, feeling confident in something as he looked at his holder. "You're just bored and wanting to start a fight, aren't you?"

"Just a bit." Plagg smirked as he flew around his head. "What's the question? Maybe we could answer it."

"He wants to know more about the history from a reputable source." Nyxy spoke as he looked at Chat. "He wants to know to be on the same page as you all; knowing the history and the system from Master Fu may help."

Chat Noir nodded as he agreed. "Do you want me to write it down or can you memorize it?"

"Write it down please." Nyxy started speaking before pausing. "Type it out maybe?"

Plagg looked at Nyxy funny as the kwami sighed, leaning over to whisper at Plagg. "They know each other."

"Ooh yeah, Chat. Type it out." Plagg responded as he watched Chat who followed their instructions and did it digitally before printing the paper and folding it.

The kwami held onto it as he smiled. "Do you need food?" Chat asked before tilting his head, which Nyxy noticed was similar to Kit.

"It's fine. Kit has jerky on standby at school."

"You sure you aren't tired?"

"You know I can fly with him to make sure he makes it back safely. After all, your class is soon so you don't need me."

"If you want Plagg, but I'm surprised you'd volunteer."

"It's been like over a century since I saw Nyxy- it'd be nice to catch up with him."

Chat Noir shrugged it off as he grabbed a different pile of papers. "Okay, have fun."

The two flew out of the window as Plagg immediately started asking Nyxy so many questions that the poor kwami was unprepared. The flight was nice though since Nyxy was glad to see another friend after so long. He missed a few birthdays and were sad about this. As they arrived to the school, Plagg raised a brow.

"He goes here?"

"Yeah, hurry up. Class just ended so Kit's going to wait for me." They flew towards the classroom where sure enough, Gabe was in on his tablet by himself. Plagg's eyes widened as he looked at Nyxy.

"I see why you were so nervous."

"Yep." The two flew over and landed in from of Gabe.

"How did that-" Gabe began before seeing Plagg.

"Kit this is-"

"I'm Plagg, the best kwami you'll ever meet." he responded as he flew up to Gabe's face.

"Interesting."

"Nyxy this isn't goo-"

"Oh don't worry, I can't tell Chat your identity. Literally." this seemed to do the trick as Gabe relaxed and smiled.

"So, Kit, you got any cheese? Specifically camembert?"

Gabe grabbed his bag, pulling out jerky for Nyxy and then looking in his lunch. "I have a cheese danish? Will that do for now?"

"Eh, good enough." the kwami responded as he took it and ate it in one gulp. "Those are good. I think I know the bakery you got them from."

"Oh, yeah. It's that Dupain-Cheng one." Kit responded trying to act cool. "I think most people in this area like it."

"You can say that again. Chat goes there all the time to get pastries. Honestly, half the things he eats are from there."

"Really?" Gabe asked, his eyes widening happily.

"Yeah, you can totally surprise him with something from there. He really likes the cookies." Plagg offered before looking outside and waving. "Anyways, I really should go. Don't want you to get too jealous about how amazing I am."

"Nice to meet you, Plagg." Gabe responded as he stood up, Nyxy going in his pocket after Plagg flew out the window.


	6. Chapter 6

Gabe left the school feeling a bit dazed after meeting Plagg who was essentially part of his idol. It was nice though, as he felt Nyxy curled up in his sweater pocket and relaxing after what Gabe would only assume was a long flight. He saw Enzo was waiting for him as they walked to the old small theater they practiced in. It was a lovely place, but could stand to use a few repairs and coating of paint. However, there was a lot of memories here for Gabe, from the first time he was referred to as 'he' while playing a role in Romeo and Juliet, to the time that Gabe found Nyxy in the closet of the old storage room piled under many things, including a false bottom when he volunteered to clean it so he could stay away from home as he thought things out.

Instead of heading home, Gabe decided to go towards the Master's place for more information. It was a small building that had signs saying it was a healer's clinic. Gabe went through the doors, as he called out. "Uhm… hello?"

The sounds of footsteps were heard as Gabe saw a short man coming out with a cane as he smiled at Gabe. "How many I help you?"

"Hi, I came to talk with…" Gabe began as he pulled the sheet out again. "Master Fu?" It seemed that Nyxy took the option of coming out at that time.

"Chat Noir gave us the address. We had some questions."

"Nyxy, it's been some time." The Master offered as he escorted the group went into the side room where a small table was on the ground and Gabe sat across from them.

"It has Master and this is Kit." Nyxy offered as he flew over to Master Fu, smiling. "You're going to like him."

"So, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, I'm a highschooler and do theater. That's actually where I found Nyxy. In the false bottom of a cabinet." Gabe offered as Fu nodded as Gabe tried to continue. "Uh… Drone and I are good friends and the team is great? I don't know what else to say without revealing anything."

"That's fine, you are safe here and can say whatever and what little you wish." Gabe nodded slowly, relaxing a bit. "So, tell me what are your questions?"

"Is the Lynx miraculous destined for evil?"

"Of course not, no miraculous is inherently evil or good. It is all within the user's desires."

"Okay. I just know the last one was terrible and then Mayura the one time I saw her was like "You're destined for evil" which is kind of not the kind of thing to hear when you don't even know what you want to do for a living and are just getting your feet wet as a superhero, which is way tougher than people think-"

"Kit," Nyxy called out as he laughed. "You're rambling again."

Gabe awkwardly laughed in response. "Sorry, I do that a lot and spiral into rants. Feel free to stop me when needed." Master Fu was smiling at this, as if it reminded him of someone as he nodded. Nyxy seemed to realize something as he went and whispered to Master Fu who stood up and went to his record player. Gabe watched from the corner of his eyes and saw it open up and Nyxy going it.

"Nyxy!" Gabe hollered looking confused as Fu smiled.

"He'll be back soon. He's merely reconnecting with the kwamis briefly to catch up and then will be back. I promise." Sitting back down, Master Fu looked at Gabe. "I will admit, I'm not sure how I feel about Mayura telling you these things since it seems like they may be targeting you and trying to meet you regularly."

"Only once, I swear." Gabe clarified.

"Well, it may be something I'll have to bring up with Ladybug just so she can assist you." Master Fu calmly spoke as a whistling was heard. "Just a moment please."

He walked away and came back with a pot of tea, pouring Gabe a cup as he smiled and took it. It was a green tea with jasmine as he sipped it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I find having tea is a good way to help with conversations." Master Fu offered as he nodded for Gabe to continue with his questions.

"Okay. Well first of all, why does Hawk Moth want just Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous?"

"You see, the two miraculous are a balance. Good and bad luck. Restoration and destruction. This balance is a great thing. If someone were to get both of them, they could make ANY wish come true. Hawk Moth wants something that he cannot get without this wish."

"It must be important to him…" Gabe muttered, looking down as he looked at Master Fu. "Has he ever visited you to ask for them?"

"Never, Hawk Moth does not and should never know my location. It would be dangerous for him to get any more miraculous." Gabe nodded as he bit his lip and glanced down. He felt guilty about coming now since what if Hawk Moth tried getting the information out of him.

"Not to worry though, we've been very good at keeping him on his toes." Master Fu spoke. "You know, Chat speaks highly of you."

"He does?"

"Yes, he says you're quite creative and eager." Gabe was beaming as the two continued talking. Gabe finally was starting to feel like a part of the world since he was getting all this information that would further explain what his place was in this team and how it all was affecting him. Master Fu spun great tales of the different Kits that had been around, including the one who actually did things like mentor the other heroes and became Masters. When Nyxy finally emerged, it was getting late in the evening as Kit thanked Master Fu for the visit and headed out.

He spent the night excited as he went home, feeling much better about his placement on the team but was anxiously waiting up until he could no longer stay awake for signs of an akuma. When he woke up, he knew that it was a silly way to do things and spent part of his time in his study period to redo his plan. He realized he could map out the average time area for attacks so he could know when to be on high alert or if he could relax more. His main source was that of the Ladyblog followed by the actual news. He was getting very into it one evening after class, with the songs from the musical playing so he could get the vibe of them all. Gabe was so focused that he didn't notice his older brother coming in until Hugo was leaning on the back of his chair.

"What?"

"Just checking in." Hugo tilted his head as he saw the screen. "Are you trying to make a trivia game or something for Aunt Alya?"

"No," Gabe said as he glanced over at the screen. "It's for a school project. Statistics of akuma attacks based on time to find high alert times?"

Hugo rolled his eyes. "That's the laziest topic to pick. Everyone has a general idea by now."

Gabe leaned back in his chair, pushing against his brother's leaning. "If that's all, you can leave."

"Nah." Hugo replied as Gabe groaned.

"Seriously Hugo-" Gabe began as Hugo came to lay on Gabe's bed. "Can't you sprawl out on your own bed?"

Hugo gave a shrug as he stretched out further on it as Gabe groaned. "You're the worst."

Hugo was normally shy and kept to his poems and books, but it seemed today to have an interest in being a pest, like he was hiding something. Gabe decided to continue working as Hugo relaxed on Gabe's bed. Hugo was always good with silence so Gabe didn't bother to do anything to break it, although he did keep his headphones off and the music paused so that if there were to be anything said, he'd hear it.

Finally, Hugo broke the silence. "You know, I thought you'd have been out in the kitchen constantly since Emma's out there watching a movie with a boy."

"So? She has friends."

"Yeah, but this is the guy she's been drooling over."

Gabe shot up immediately. "What?!" his chair fell backwards as he looked at Hugo. "You should have started with that!" Gabe immediately walked towards his door as Hugo stopped him. "Hugo what the f-" Gabe began as he squirmed trying to get out of his brother's grip.

"Be more casual! Do you know how mad she'd be if we were caught snooping?" Gabe thought about it for a moment as he nodded. It was mostly that he realized how embarrassed he would be if Emma had walked in on him and Drone. Although, the idea of Drone and him cuddled up on his couch playing Mecha Strike sounded nice.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gabe spoke as his brother let go of him.

He was pacing his room and thinking before coming up with, in his words, a brilliant idea. It was simply, to go get a drink, but to his sleepy mind, it was great. Gabe went out calmly, phone in hand as he pretended to be checking out something as he walked to the kitchen. Glancing up briefly to the living room where Emma was awkwardly sitting with a boy. There was a space between the two as the movie played. It seemed that Emma was stewing about something as Gabe friend.

"Hey." Gabe called out quietly to Emma.

"Hi." It was curt and to the point as Gabe decided he needed to check on his sister. Grabbing ice, he looked over at her. "Ems, can I borrow you for a minute? Hugo fell off my chair and got a bit of a goosebump."

She made a face, one of confusion before getting up and following Gabe. As they went into his room, he threw the bag of ice at Hugo.

"For your head."

"My head?" Hugo questioned as he saw Emma walk in as Gabe immediately shut the door.

"Gabe, open the door." Emma spoke as her younger brother leaned against the door.

"No."

"Gabriel…Adr-Tom… whatever you chose as a middle name Dupain-Cheng." Emma said in a rougher tone as he held firm.

"First of all, I haven't picked a middle name yet. Secondly, what happened?"

"Nothing, other than you pulling me from a movie."

"Gabe she's-" "No." Gabe butted in as he looked at Hugo before turning to his sister.

"You looked like a bike ran over your foot." Gabe softened his look. "You okay?"

Emma shrugged, crossing her arms and held out for a moment before caving. "Fine, I asked Jake over here to watch a movie since Sydney and Asmar told me that he liked me but I made a bit of a move and he got all awkward."

"It could be that he's shy?"

"I don't know."

"Well, keep your hope up and you can ask him tomorrow after your tournament."

Emma let out a groan. "Right… that."

"Yes, that. And tomorrow we can do a sleepover in the living room and get all the junk food." Emma smiled a bit as she looked at the door.

"I'm going to head out." Gabe gave her a small smile as he went back to his computer. Hugo seemed to be distracted by his phone as Gabe decided to message Enzo about the plans for the next day and that he may need to borrow a few movies. He'd mention it to Emma later to see if she was okay with Enzo coming over; he came over most times since he had grown up with the family and it gave Enzo the true sibling experience.

Gabe sat back down and finished getting back to work. By the time he finished researching before dinner, he had drawn the conclusion that Hawk Moth was more likely to strike after 12pm and before 11pm with peak times being noon to four. This wasn't the be-all truth, but it was a good average time zone. This way, he could actually do things and sleep still. Gabe and Hugo went out to the dining room table just as Jake was leaving. The two waved to him before going over to the kitchen and get everything set up. Adrien had taken Hugo to an appointment and was on his way back, so they pulled the stew out of the crockpot and bowled it out on the table as the thuds of steps were heard.

"Sorry I'm late-" Marinette started as the three kids in unison called out. "You're not late."

Marinette dropped her heeled shoes over to the shoe rack as she let out a happy sigh. "I'm glad to hear that. I was rushing to finish these for tomorrow." Marinette offered as she gestured to the bag on her arm.

She went over to Emma and showed her them first. Inside was a bunch of t-shirts as she started beaming. "You made shirts to cheer me on?" Emma asked as the boys came over to check it out.

"Of course, it's to go with the signs and everything." Marinette responded as she kissed the top of Emma's forehead before pulling back and handing out the shirts.

"Thanks mom." Emma spoke as Gabe relaxed. Tomorrow would be a good day. When Adrien got home a few minutes later, they ate dinner and everything was good.

Gabe felt greatly uncomfortable as he sat with his family waiting for the tournament to start as he pulled the plaid shirt tighter around him. He had tried his best, but he still felt like his chest wasn't flat enough and the shirt wasn't baggy enough to hide it. He was at least on the edge of the bench with Adrien sat beside him with Louis on his lap, bouncing. The first round of the tournament had already happened and the Collège Françoise Dupont was firmly in the top three. Emma was very focused as she made sure the team kept their cool and goal in mind.

He was watching this as it seemed that the boy from yesterday, Jake, came over to talk with Emma. They seemed to be having a private conversation since they were away from the rest of the team. Jake seemed to say something that Emma didn't like though as her expression firmed and turned to walk away.

"I'm going to check on Emma-" Gabe stood up to go see Emma, but Adrien grabbed his hand. "The next round is about to start Gabe, you can talk to her after." Gabe sat down with a huff as Louis began moving his toy dinosaur like a rocket ship in front of Gabe's face. He tried to hide his annoyance as the round began.

It could have gone better if he were honest but at the end of the round, their robot was somehow still standing… the team on the other hand seemed to be at each other's throat with criticisms and Emma was trying her best to keep them together. At one point, she seemed to be fed up as she threw her hands up in the air and stormed away.

Gabe immediately got up, rushing towards the backroom to go see Emma and check with her. However, there was a crashing of a door flinging open as Gabe ducked into the nearest doorway, peeking his head out as he saw an akumatized Jake going towards where Emma was. Gabe immediately began patting his plaid shirt's pocket as Nyxy flew out. "Emma's in trouble! Come on Nyxy, time to prowl!"

The minute Kit was transformed he was running towards the back room. Emma was trapped in a corner as the akuma went towards her. He was dressed like a pirate with grey skin and flaming orange eyes.

"-I'm taking over as captain, and everyone will follow me. Starting with you first!" he was rambling as he lunged at Emma.

"Not today!" Kit rushed in, tackling the Pirate into a bunch of boxes before jumping back and throwing a shelf on him before grabbing Emma and getting her out of the way. He scooped her up bridal style as he ran down the hall, trying to find a good hiding spot as they ducked into a hallway and out window to the alley as they hid behind a couple of dumpsters.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"Okay, so me and other Captain, Jose, asked for Jake to go over all the fixings to make sure our robot was properly secured. He didn't and so I talked to him about it when he came to whine. He got upset saying I was too much of a micromanager and that I should be nicer to him if I actually liked him. Then he got on saying that he should have been the Captain this year and is calling himself the Commandeerer."

Kit gave her a look that could only be described as a 'yikes' from this as he shook his head. "Sounds rough. Guessing that you may not like him too much anymore."

"Didn't help he insulted my brother." Emma said with a huff as she rolled her eyes, muttering that she should be the one actually upset and akumatized. Kit made a face.

"Don't say that, those kind of things are jinxes where Hawk Moth akumatizes many people." Kit looked at Emma. "Anyways, do you have any clue where the akuma may be located?"

"Sir! Over here!" A voice screamed as Kit hissed and stood in front of Emma protectively before shoving the dumpsters at the sidekicks as he grabbed Emma's hands and let her down the alley. They reached a fire escape and Kit pulled the ladder down with his belt, getting Emma up before he followed and lifted the ladder behind them before shoving her through a window, shutting and locking it as they hide out of sight of it as Kit then locked the door and barricaded it.

He waited until the followers went away as Kit pulled the clasp of his belt to open his communicator.

Ladybug answered almost immediately. "Kit, where are you?"

"I'm with Emma Dupain-Cheng. She's the main target for the Commandeerer because she's his captain."

"Okay, you need to stay put and protect her until Chat gets there." Ladybug began as Kit almost argued but realized something. This would be his chance to actually find Hawk Moth. He looked at Emma as he nodded.

"Will do Ladybug." Kit began as Emma looked at him.

"How did you know my last name… or first name?"

Kit shrugged as he awkwardly looked at her. "Well uh… I was a fan of robotics tournaments so of course I heard them say your name?" he tried lying as she seemed to accept it.

Emma was eyeing him as Kit looked at her funny. "What?"

"You're shorter than I thought you'd be."

Kit made a face as he bit his tongue from saying that no one could be a gazelle like Emma as he shrugged. "I get that a lot."

"It's not a bad thing. I mean, height varies for everyone. Like my one brother is super short but it's never slowed him down."

"Your one brother?"

"Yeah, I have three." Emma began as she looked towards the window as Kit kept an eye on her as he smiled before hearing a bang noise from one of the lower floors.

"Shit. Come on." Kit spoke as he took Emma and pushed her into the one storage closet before following her and shutting the door. It was a tight fit, but Kit wasn't worried about proximity since after all this was his sister. She's been in more cramped situations with him… but she would never realize this was one of those times. Kit kept a hand on her mouth as the noises continued. When they were just outside the cupboard, Kit looked at her and whispered. "I'll jump out and stop whoever is there. You'll stay in here unless I tell you to run."

Emma nodded as Kit counted himself down to three before throwing the doors open and jumping at the noise outside. He took the person to the ground, ready to throw a fist.

"Paws off!" the voice yelled under him as Kit looked to see Chat.

"Emma, it's safe!" Kit called out as he sat on Chat Noir. "I just pounced on the better defense squad."

"Kit," Chat began as the boy looked down realizing he was still pinning his mentor down before scrambling to get up and free him. Emma came out as she looked at the two and burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, it's just funny." She eyed the two as she covered her mouth to prevent more giggles. "You guys act like you're family."

"Well, all of Paris is our family." Chat said as Kit rolled his eyes at the cheesy line.

"You got this Chat?"

"Paw-sitively." Kit laughed at this as he went to the window.

"In that case, I'm going to go work on some damage control in the area." Kit offered before jumping out and shutting the window behind him. He got far enough away as he took a deep breath. This was the time. He counted himself down before finally whispering. "Stalk and Pounce." as he focused on Hawk Moth. Surprisingly, he felt the sudden connection as he looked up and followed where his instincts were leading him. He ran as fast as he could, taking dangerous leaps and whatever he could to get to the area. He found a cliff with giant windows as he jumped up to the top where it was covered as he carefully climbed towards the window to take a peek in.

He watched as Hawk Moth seemed to be stomping on the ground as he began to detransform and the covers of the windows were shutting.

"No no no no!" Kit repeated as he scrambled towards the closing spot in hopes of seeing him in last minute. However, he immediately regretted that for he recognized the face. It was one he saw quite a bit… that of his grandfather'


	7. Chapter 7

For the rest of the Robotics tournament, Gabe sat in an almost state of shock; he barely reacted when intriguing things happened and even when Emma's team made it into the final two. His father noticed but didn't say anything for awhile but eventually did ask. Gabe shrugged it off, claiming he was just feeling uncomfortable in the crowd and some personal issues - which Adrien knew as dysphoria. In reality, he had never expected to have actually known who Hawkmoth was let alone that it was his grandfather.

Gabe couldn't help but think about all the times that Gabriel had been absent and the amount of attacks on Paris through the years. It had been going on over 20 years at this point and although there had been some breaks, that was still too long to be going on a mission for a wish. Gabe wondered what wish could span over twenty years. He bunched his eyes shut and took a deep breath as he resisted the urge to scream aloud in his room.

Nyxy was in his plaid shirt pocket as he buttoned it up now that he wasn't in the tournament to support Emma. Was this the reason that Mayura was calling him evil? Or did she think in a twisted sense that Hawk Moth was in the right at the moment? Did Mayura know who he was and his connection to Hawk Moth? Gabe didn't think so after the conversation with Master Fu since he didn't even hint at taking back the Miraculous.

The tournament finished off with Collège Françoise Dupont in second place, which was amazing after everything to be considered and Jake had apologized to Emma. She was also feeling more optimistic and better so she went out with Sydney and Asmar instead of doing the suggested sleepover. The moment Gabe got back to his room, he immediately swapped out of the shirt into his largest hoodie to feel the most comfortable.

Gabe headed out pretty quickly to take a walk as he pulled out his phone after awhile to message Drone back.

 **Where did you buzz off to after Chat took care of Emma?**

 _Got held up by a small mob. Nbd._

 **Well, did you want to meet up to hang out?**

 _I have to do sommore family stuff. :/ Rain check?_

 **Of course. Buzz me when you finished 3 xo**

 _You already used that pun today but anyways, I'll ttyl_

 **There's only so many bee puns Honey xo**

Gabe smiled at this but couldn't seem to get his mind off of his grandfather in the moment.

He glanced over at the road beside him as Gabe noticed a taxi up ahead when he was hit with an idea. Gabe had checked what he had in his wallet before rushing over to getting into the taxi after confirming it was free to take. He was going to confront his grandfather in that moment, after all, family first, right? Marinette and Adrien were constantly emphasizing the importance of communicating and being there for your family so it had to be a family value and Gabriel will see that.

The taxi ride over was one full of anxiety as Gabe thought about how to exactly approach the subject when he got there. Optimistically, he could do it in a five step system.

 **One - Greet his grandfather**

 **Two - Affirming his connection with Gabriel for trust**

 **Three - Kindly asking for the miraculous**

 **Four - Get it**

 **Five - Hug it out**

He was sure that Gabriel would be willing to see reason from his own grandson? Gabe talked himself up into this optimistic results as he was almost happy to be doing this as he arrived to the Agreste mansion. To many people, it was a large place with an intimidating presence since it lacked the warmth and lived in feeling compared to other places. Gabe paid the taxi driver more than enough as he let himself in the gate and then went through the main door. There was no one near the doorway at that moment, which he expected since no one planned for his arrival.

Nathalie was the first person he saw as she poked her head out from her desk area. She sounded concerned and confused. "Gabe-?"

Gabe knew if he started talking with her, he'd be distracted or talked down as he simply ignored her and headed up with his shoulders straight. He took the stairs two at a time as he opened the office door with the sound of feet following behind him as Gabe moved faster.

Gabe opened the door as he came in and saw Gabriel sitting at his desk, staring at his computer as Gabe couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance in his stomach. He said he was busy, but it seemed like he was only checking over things on the computer like his emails versus coming out to support his only granddaughter in her tournament! It was a large tournament.

"Yes- Gabe?" Gabriel questioned as his grandson shut the door behind him as he shoved his hands in his sweater's pocket as he felt Nyxy resting against his hand, reassuring Gabe that he was there to support.

"I came to talk to you, I am not going to wait and it is something serious." Gabe hoped his tone came out authoritative but sounded more like a question as he felt the worry rising up in his gut.

"Is it about work? I heard you had difficulties with the last photographer."

"No… I came to talk to you about something else and I want your utmost honesty. Are you Hawk Moth?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you Hawk Moth? It's a simple question. You know, the man who keeps attacking our city to try and steal the Miraculous."

"Of course not, that is ridiculous. I've been akumatized so I couldn't possibly be him." Gabriel crossed his arms. "Why would you think that?"

"Let me rephrase this," Gabe spoke calmly as he tried to pull any ounce of confidence that he had, which reminded him of Kit Lynx in the moment. "I know you are Hawk Moth and have proof." Gabriel's eyes were cold all of a sudden as Gabe couldn't help but gulp in nervousness. "I want this to end so you can actually be with our family so please give me your Miraculous and we never speak of this again. "

"Pardon me?" The voice was cold and it rubbed Gabe the wrong way since it was clearly a rouse of Gabriel playing dumb to Gabe.

"Grandfather, I am trying to talk about you like an adult- stop lying to me. You need to make a decision. Give me the butterfly Miraculous and I will give it to Ladybug with no questions ever asked and we can never speak of it. A secret between us."

Gabe shrugged as he added. "Or, I will tell my dad and Ladybug all about this. How you've been doing this, where your lair is that you've been sending out the butterflies and giving you up to them and the authorities. After all, Paris hates Hawk Moth and wants justice for everything he's done to people."

"I honestly don't know who put this delusion in your mind that I am Hawk Moth-"

"I SAW YOU. I saw you transform into Hawk Moth after Emma's classmate was akumatized." Gabe screamed loudly with the hands balled into a fist at his side. "I can't even trust you! I based my name after you from caring so much for you and your assistance with my transition but now I find out you're the villain I've been trained to be afraid of. We have been trained since I started school on drills to be out of the way and safe from akumas! Would you really need a wish that badly that you'd give up our family for this?!"

"You'll never understand since you are a child." Gabriel spoke as he stepped closer. "I'm doing this for our family to bring back your grandmother."

"She's gone!" His face was hot and he could feel the tears threatening to pour out as he screamed at his grandfather. "She's gone and has been for over twenty years and the rest of us are still here! You neglect us for this? Focus on the family you actually have or else you're going to have no one."

Gabe turned on his heel as he went to the door as he stopped for a moment to hold the door knob as he took a deep breath. "While we are at it, I quit modelling. I don't want to be associated with you anymore as long as you do this." his voice was just barely loud enough to be heard as he opened the office door and ran out, slamming it behind him.

Gabe ran past Nathalie and Gorilla that were standing near the doorway as he wiped at his eyes while rushing down the stairs. No one seemed to be coming after him as he ran but Gabe was terrified of being followed as he ducked into the nearby construction zone. It was a weekend so no one would be there. It was a newer project so mainly they had only half built buildings, with a few actually having walls. He went to one of the back buildings as he knew it would be harder to see him there.

He ran past Nathalie and Gorilla who were standing in the doorway. No one seemed to be coming after him immediately as he ran, still worried though he ducked into the construction workplace to get a few minutes to breathe where he wouldn't be interrupted. The whole area was less built up, but they were slowly changing that. He headed towards one of the back buildings a

Gabe ran from the house as he went off the beaten path immediately towards the less built up area. There was currently construction as he went to a building further into the back of the property as he went inside and climbed up to the second floor using the support beams as a makeshift ladder as he simply fell down on the ground in a heap afterwards. He couldn't go near his family OR Ladybug in that moment since he was too emotional and he did promise that he wouldn't tell until tonight.

Thinking about this more, Gabe felt the tears falling down as he tried to stop them. He hated crying with a burning passion but in that moment he couldn't stop as he felt Nyxy curling up on his face. There was a soft movement of Nyxy's paw on his face as there was soft words.

"Hey, hey it's going to be okay."

Gabe let himself cry for a bit more before he squeezed his eyes tightly as he resisted shaking his head. "No, it's not."

"Yes-"

"It really isn't." Sitting up, Gabe held Nyxy in his hands. "I'm going to have to tell them and you know my family AND Ladybug, they're going to want to know how I know this."

'Just tell them you followed a lead?"

Gabe shook his head. "They won't buy just that."

Nyxy smiled at him. "Well, we'll just have to show them what we can and hope they trust us?"

"I guess." Gabe offered as he leaned back against the upstairs wall as he heard a thud noise from downstairs. Pausing, Gabe looked around. 'Nyxy, get in my pocket." Gabe spoke as he stood up and looked around as from the hole downstairs as a large monstrosity came up. It looked like a death hawk moth with an extra set of wings and large dripping fangs. Gabe's eyes widened as he saw this. "Shit."

He got on his feet quickly as the moth flew at him, Gabe ducked out of the way as he gasped out from the shock of this. His grandfather got Mayura to send a monster after him! He was so pissed. Looking around, he knew that Mayura was likely close but he also wasn't sure if she could spy on him through the creature- this was . He looked to the side as he noticed a window cut out with plastic around it. The sheet was only pinned and he noticed an open corner as that was likely his best way to get out.

Gabe made a move to the opposite way to psych the monster out as he then ran for the window as he yanked off the plastic and went out. However, Gabe didn't plan this properly as he realized that there was nothing for him to land on or grab since it was a construction area as he fell. All of his weight went right onto his knee as he fell as he bit down on his arm to muffle the scream as he scrambled to hide behind some dry wall leaning against the already made wall.

He stayed there for what felt like hours, his knee absolutely on fire with pain as Gabe tried to keep calm. Nyxy was leaning against his face as they waited it out together. After awhile, Nyxy flew out to check it was safe before coming back.

"Can you walk on it?"

Gabe shook his head as Nyxy nodded. "Okay, let's transform and that should help."

Gabe did as Nyxy suggested and although the pain was not gone, he felt it considerably lessened as they headed back to the house.

* * *

The lights were off as he went to his window to let himself in. It would be good to give himself a chance to ice his knee and then he'd tell his parents before going to tell Ladybug… he just needed to psych himself up first.

However, as he came in the window, he wasn't looking near his bed. It wasn't until Kit heard a noise as he was already detransforming that he tensed up.

"What. The. Fuck."

Gabe looked over at his bed where he was faced to face with his best friend. Enzo was staring at him with wide eyes. Gabe leaned on the desk as he didn't know how to continue.

"Hi?"

"Hi. That's what you want to go with." Enzo spoke back as he stood up. "I just saw a superhero come through your window and it turns out it's YOU but all you say is hi?"

"Yeah?" Gabe offered as he tried to walk towards his bed. The moment he put weight on his leg, he immediately collapsed and let out a shriek of pain.

"What's the matter?"

"My knee."

Enzo ran over as he went to grab Gabe's arms. "Ready?"

Gabe nodded."

"You can do this. One, two..." he spoke before whispering 'Three." before pushing Enzo lifted and Gabe pushed himself off of his floor as he went to put weight on his leg, he immediately started going down again but Enzo caught him as he practically carried Gabe to the bed.

Gabe was cussing greatly as he was laid on the bed- a pillow shoved under his leg as Enzo seemed to disappear for a moment. He was sobbing in pain as Enzo came back holding a large bag of ice.

"I'm going to inspect it; so I have to take your pants off."

"Okay." Gabe braced himself as the cloth brushed over his knee. He wasn't concerned about being left in his boxers as Enzo seemed to be concerned.

"Gabe, what the heck did you do? I'm going to call your parents- you need to go to the hospital for this." Enzo spoke as he rested the ice on it as Gabe shook his head.

"NO." Gabe pleaded as Enzo looked at him. "Everyone is out doing things and I can't let them know."

Enzo eyed him for a moment as he was calculating in his head just exactly what they needed to do when Enzo let out a heavy breath. "We can take a taxi and I'll go with you, okay?"

Gabe nodded after a moment of thought as Enzo smiled at him. "Okay, I need you to be strong but we're going to get you up." Enzo hooked his arms under Gabe's shoulder. "Don't put weight on your leg."

Gabe agreed as Enzo counted again and got him into a seated position before walking over to the dresser.

"Shorts, sweats or pajama bottoms?"

"Pajama bottoms." Gabe requested as he wanted comfort.

"How long have you had your binder on?" Enzo questioned, his voice soft as he knew that was an awkward conversation to have.

"Not that long- I want to keep it on."

"Okay. " Gabe was in pain, and couldn't handle any other things in the moment if he could help it.

"Can you get me a different shirt though?"

Enzo nodded as he brought over a t-shirt and a long sleeve sweater. "It's getting cold out."

Gabe slid on the shirts no problem as he got Enzo to help him throw the pants over his boxer shorts. Enzo left briefly to get his shoes and an ice pack. He shoved the ice pack in his pocket as his friend guided him down the hall and had Gabe cling to the railway as Enzo supported him down the steps as he hopped. When they got downstairs, a taxi was already awaiting them as Enzo helped Gabe into the car.

In the car, Gabe chose to lean against Enzo as he seemed to be scrolling through his Instagram feed. It was nothing he was keeping track of but Enzo was smart and keeping up with all of this. He was uncomfortable the entire time, even as the driver tried to keep it as smooth of a ride as he could.

Getting in was a long journey, as the Emergency Room sign in took a bit of time to make sure that everything was okay. The nurse seemed confused about some things until Enzo had politely pulled her aside to explain. Gabe was too sore and exhausted to do it himself. When they finished signing in, Gabe was put into the wheelchair for it to be easier before going to wait with everyone else in the waiting rooms.

Gabe and Enzo made themselves comfortable in the corner as Enzo grabbed Gabe's hand. "Hey, this is the right call, even if you are afraid of telling them what happened. But..."

"But?"

"If it comes to some serious medical stuff, like overnight stay, surgery or whatever, we NEED to let your parents know. You're a minor… they'll call if we don't." Enzo spoke, his tone left no room for argument and Gabe knew if he was as Kit in that moment, his ears would be flat on his head.

"Okay Enzo." He nodded as Gabe looked around mindlessly. His friend seemed unfocused and had something bothering him.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah. Fine." Enzo offered as Gabe knew that tone. It was his 'drop it' since Enzo was in his own mind. Gabe decided to mindlessly play a phone game. He really didn't want to text anyone in that moment since his best friend was here and he wanted to put off telling his family. He was also worried on how to talk to Ladybug. As he was thinking of all this, he couldn't help but spiral into the thoughts that he needed more friends.

When they were called in the doctor barely had to look at it before sending him to X-Ray. Enzo watched carefully as Gabe was X-rayed and sent back to the emergency room.

"You got lucky." Gabe heard from the doctor as he let out a sigh, before the doctor continued. "You have a patellar fracture but it likely won't require surgery. However, there is some hemarthrosis causing extra swelling."

Gabe looked over at Enzo who had a fist over her mouth, pondering. "What I mean is that you broke your kneecap and it is pooling with some blood pooling in the area causing you probably a great deal of pain with the swelling."

"Oh yes." Gabe spoke as the doctor nodded. "Well, I am going to give you painkillers in the meantime and we will cast it. Do NOT put weight on it for the next few weeks. If you need to, your parents can rent out a wheelchair in the interim."

Gabe's eyes widened as he glanced over to Enzo who in turn made a face. "We gotta call them."

Gabe sighed as he agreed. He watched Enzo walk out to make the call as he was given the pain killers. By the time they got him into casting, Enzo was back and the pain was greatly relieved to the point where Gabe would admit he was feeling JUST a tad loopy.

* * *

As they were headed home with Marinette driving, Gabe looked at his mother. She was oddly silent especially after Enzo was dropped off.

"Hey mom?" Gabe finally asked, leaning his head on the headrest.

"Yes?"

"If you found out a terrible secret about someone…would you think any less of them?"

"I think it depends." Marinette offered as she pursed her lips. "Is there something you need to talk about Gabe?"

He nodded. "I- I found out a secret about grandpa."

"You should probably talk with him about this since it affects him." Gabe sighed as he puffed his cheeks. As they were driving he noticed something. There was a bright burst of light in the distance as Gabe blinked his eyes a few times. Was that near their home.

The radio, that was quietly playing as background noise had been interrupted with the announcer. "There is a current akuma attack near Sullivan and Hughes Blvd."

"That's around home." Gabe spoke. "We need to go get the family." Gabe's stomach dropped.

"We're near Alya and Nino's. I'll drop you off there and get your father."

"Mom no-"

"Gabe." Marinette spoke. "Yes."

Gabe leaned up, his head spinning as he stared at her trying to sound serious. "Mom THIS is grandpa. He's doing this."

She was still driving as she looked at Gabe. "No, he's not Hawk Moth Gabe. I know you're upset with him but-"

"MOM. I know he is."

The car pulled over as she looked at him. "Now, we need to get you into safety and then we can talk about this later."

Marinette seemed to be uncharacteristically serious as Gabe backed down for the moment as she helped him into the house. It seemed the siblings were all downstairs with Alya's twin sisters babysitting as they were more than welcome to have Gabe there.

After only a few minutes though, he knew what he had to do as he feigned needing a nap and going to an upstairs bedroom.

"Nyxy, let's go."


End file.
